Ross McLaughlin reports: 11Alive’s Center for Investigative Action went undercover to expose how a state agency that you trust to protect your personal information is putting people at risk for identity theft. Your private information, available for anyone to see — tax returns, Social Security numbers, you name it. It may not have been intentional,…
Category: Government Sector
Scannable VA cards put veterans at risk of identity theft
From the FFS department: Jackie Calloway reports: Anyone with a smartphone and a bar code app can scan any VA identification card issued since 2004 and the cardholder’s Social Security number immediately pops up on the screen. Tampa businessman and Army veteran Barry Landau wants answers. “I didn’t think that was possible.” Landau said. “The…
Warrant issued for Western Cape hacker
From News24: A warrant of arrest was authorised in the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crime Court, Cape Town, on Friday for a woman accused of hacking the internet system of Parliament’s operations officer. Cleopatra Mosana failed to appear in court. The warrant would be issued if she failed to appear by 11 December, a court official…
NZ: Christchurch transport card flaws expose identities, grant free bus rides
Darren Pauli reports: Kiwis could have their names, addresses, dates of birth and phone numbers exposed by flaws in the Christchurch public transport system that could also allow locals to travel on buses for free. The security flaws in the contactless bus ticketing system — some known to operator ECan since 2009 — allowed an…
FBI warns of U.S. government breaches by Anonymous hackers
The Department of Energy hack noted previously on this blog may be part of a larger and longer campaign against government agencies by members of Anonymous who exploited an Adobe vulnerability. At least that’s what an FBI memo seen by Reuters seems to suggest: The hackers exploited a flaw in Adobe Systems Inc’s software to…
Authorities investigating cybersecurity incidents targeting Obamacare website
The Chicago Tribune reports: U.S. authorities are investigating a series of cybersecurity incidents targeting the HealthCare.gov website at the center of President Obama’s healthcare law, a U.S. homeland security official told Congress on Wednesday. Roberta Stempfley, acting assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Cybersecurity and Communications, said her department was aware of “about…