Shane Cowlishaw reports: A prisoner took a muster sheet containing the details of 52 other inmates out of jail, and posted it on Facebook. Milton prison in South Otago learned of the latest public sector privacy breach last weekend, after discovering the inmate had managed to sneak the sheet out when he was freed. The…
Category: Government Sector
Former State Department Employee Pleads Guilty To Federal Charge in Identity Theft Scam
Rodney P. Quarles, Jr., 26, of Charlotte Hall, Md., pled guilty yesterday to a federal charge stemming from an identity theft scam in which he and others used stolen credit cards to make more than $70,000 in purchases. According to a statement of offense, signed by the defendant as well as the government, Quarles worked…
SC: 3.6 million Social Security numbers stolen from state Department of Revenue (update 1)
Ouch. Tim Smith reports: A foreign hacker stole a vast database of the South Carolina Department of Revenue and investigators told GreenvilleOnline.com that 387,000 credit card numbers and 3.6 million Social Security numbers have been exposed. Read more on Greenville News. Update 1: The paper also has a later article on the review of state agencies’…
Stoke-on-Trent City Council fined £120k after mis-sent email disclosed sensitive child data (update 2)
Public Service reports: Stoke-on-Trent City Council has been hit with a major fine after sensitive information on a child protection case was emailed to the wrong person, the Information Commissioner’s Office has confirmed. The ICO, which can fine up to £500,000 for serious breaches of the Data Protection Act, said the £120,000 fine issued to…
Scottish Borders Council appeals ICO’s fine
Scottish Borders Council has appealed the £250,000 fine imposed by the ICO following a data protection breach in which employees’ information was found unshredded in supermarket recycling bins. Southern Reporter reports that the ICO has until November 2 to respond to the appeal and the decision will be made by a three-judge panel.
ICO: Education ministry BROKE the Data Protection Act
Kelly Fiveash reports from the U.K.: The Department for Education broke the Data Protection Act after it exposed the email addresses, unencrypted passwords and sensitive answers of members of the public who filled in an online form about parental controls on the net, The Register can reveal. However – despite the breach – the Information Commissioner’s Office…