David Canton writes: Federal Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart recently released her annual report to Parliament on PIPEDA, the private-sector privacy law. While her comments on social networking were highlighted and widely reported by the media, the report contained some other interesting trends that have not been as widely discussed. One of the most notable developments…
Author: Dissent
Ca: Computer theft suit bites feds for $751G
Peter Zimonjic sheds more light on the costs of a breach: The federal government paid out $751,750 to avoid a class action lawsuit after personal information was stolen from a Canada Revenue Agency office. The theft of six computers from the Tax Services Office in Laval, Que., on Sept. 4, 2003, jeopardized the personal information…
FL: Social Security Numbers Published in Collier
Collier County admits they may have thousands of pages of your personal information online for anyone to see. More than 9 million documents are filed at the Collier Clerk of Courts Office and WINK News discovered software may be to blame for thousands of those documents not having your personal information blacked out. Read more…
Private paperwork found in Yankee parade confetti
Julia reports: The half ton of recycled confetti provided to buildings lining the Canyon of Heroes in downtown Manhattan for the Yankees’ victory parade yesterday turned out not to be enough for some people to show their enthusiasm. Medical records, financial statements, pay stubs, law firm invoices and court records were found in the fifty…
Court: Surviving spouse is "personal representative"
Court opinion that the surviving spouse is a personal representative of the deceased for purposes of HIPAA. Alvista Healthcare Center v. Miller Supreme Court of Georgia Decided: November 2, 2009 CARLEY, Presiding Justice Mary Miller is the surviving spouse of Stanton Miller, who resided in a nursing care facility owned and operated by Alvista Healthcare…
MassMutual warns of data breach
Jaclyn Cashman reports: “MassMutual can confirm that, despite comprehensive procedures and diligent practices to protect confidential and private data concerning employees at MassMutual and several of its subsidiaries, a limited amount of personal employee information maintained in a database by an outside vendor (engaged by the company) may have been subject to unauthorized access. However,…