The Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has been accused of a “cover up” after two back-up tapes went missing containing the banking details of around 100,000 farmers. The tapes are said to have gone missing this spring, with Defra officials having been informed in July. The tapes were lost by contractor IBM,…
Author: Dissent
NHS trust bans unencrypted flash drives
As a follow-up to a breach reported here last month, the BBC reports that Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust in Surrey has apologized and banned the use of unencrypted memory sticks after 76 patients’ personal details were lost. Now if we could just get all health care facilities in the U.S. to flat…
UK: Home Office – sensitive document blunders
5.4m of us apply for a passport every year and we relay on the Passport Office Service, a part of the Home Office to issue them. They say their mission is safeguarding your identity but Watchdog has received complaints from viewers who say that the Passport Office Service have made basic errors meaning that their…
Archives officials grilled on the Hill over missing data drives
Max Cacas reports: So, why can’t the National Archives hang on to its computer hard drives? That’s the question that the House Information Policy, Census and National Archives wants answered. Rep. William Lacy Clay (D-Missouri), is chairman of the panel, a part of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The theft or loss of…
Illinois Abortion Law Blocked Again
Joe Harris reports: A controversial state law requiring parental notification of abortions took effect Wednesday after 14 years of legal wrangling, only to be suspended hours later, when a Cook County judge issued a restraining order. The 1995 law requires doctors to give 48 hours notice to parents if girls 17 or younger seek abortions….
More cases of medical ID theft or fraud
Mitchell Kline reports two cases in his reporting of six recent ID theft cases: Claudia Perez, 39, is accused of using a Georgia resident’s Social Security number when registering for treatment at Williamson Medical Center. Perez was arrested Oct. 14 and charged with identity theft, theft of services over $500 and theft of services over…