A mortgage broker who discarded consumers’ personal financial records in a publicly- accessible dumpster paid a $35,000 civil penalty to settle Federal Trade Commission charges. According to an FTC complaint filed in December 2008, the defendant improperly disposed of about 40 boxes of sensitive consumer records collected by companies he had owned, including tax returns,…
Author: Dissent
(update) Swiss to exclude stolen data from tax cooperation
Switzerland will not cooperate with foreign authorities on tax cases where client data has been stolen from banks, its Finance Department said on Wednesday, following a recent spat with France. “No administrative assistance can be provided in the case of violation of public policy or the principle of good faith,” the department said in a…
UK: Confidential hospital records found at Norwich supermarket
Sarah Hall reports: Hospital records containing highly confidential information about vulnerable patients have been found outside a city supermarket by a member of the public. Personal and clinical details of 11 elderly patients at the new rehabilitation unit at Norwich Community Hospital were on the ward handover sheets, which pass on key health needs of…
Pointer: More Answers About Law Amending HIPAA Rules
Donna Vanderpool, M.B.A., J.D., assistant vice president, risk management, at Professional Risk Management Services Inc. (PRMS), has an article in the January 15th issue of Psychiatric News (Volume 45, Number 2, Page 9), “More Answers About Law Amending HIPAA Rules.” The article is available free in full-text version online.
Hundreds of Network Solutions Sites Hacked
Brian Krebs writes: Web site domain registrar and hosting provider Network Solutions acknowledged Tuesday that hackers had broken into its servers and defaced hundreds of customer Web sites. The hackers appear to have replaced each site’s home page with anti-Israeli sentiments and pictures of masked militants and armed with rocket launchers and rifles, along with…
UK: Computer virus shuts down Exeter University system (updated)
From ThisisExeter: The entire computer network at Exeter University had to be closed down after a it was hit by a virus attack. Hundreds of computers were taken off-line and lecturers were forced to give up their hi-tech teaching and return to using chalk and blackboards. It meant that there was no access to email,…