Steven Harmon reports: In a puzzling breach of security, computer storage devices containing identification information of 800,000 Californians using the state’s child support services have gone missing. The Department of Child Support Service reported on Thursday the data devices were lost March 12 en route to California from the Colorado facilities of IBM, one of…
Category: Government Sector
UK: Data loss by North East councils is revealed
Andrew Glover reports: Widespread personal data loss by North East councils has put thousands of people at risk of identity fraud. Lost laptops, missing memory sticks and bundles of post sent to wrong addresses have put delicate private details in the wrong hands. A Freedom of Information Act request revealed a catalogue of potentially dangerous…
Norwegian government portal compromises users’ personal information
Mikael Ricknäs reports: Norway’s Altinn portal had to be closed after users got access to data belonging to two people, and on Thursday the site remained down. The Altinn portal is used by Norwegians to access their tax returns, among other documents. The portal is also used by 455,000 companies, which can view VAT (value…
UK: Ex-Hertfordshire constable fined over data breach
From the BBC: A former constable from Hertfordshire has been fined after using police systems to access information about his friends. Adrian Moir, 45, of Valley Walk, Rickmansworth, resigned from Hertfordshire Police soon after an investigation was launched by anti-corruption officers. He admitted four counts of breaching the Data Protection Act. Basildon Crown Court ordered…
IE: Military members’ info on laptop stolen from officer’s home
Niall O’Connor reports that a military laptop containing hundreds of 65th Battalion, Reserve Defence Forces members’ information was stolen from a senior officer’s home in Dublin earlier this week. As of the time of this posting, it’s not clear whether the laptop contained any financial details. It’s also not clear why the officer had the…
MI: Wayne County sends out email blast containing some 1300 names and social security numbers
Michael Rosenfield reports on yet another e-mail attachment error (there seems to have been a bunch of them recently): The personal information of some 1300 Wayne County employees is compromised after an email mistake by the county’s Department of Personnel/Human Resources. A spreadsheet containing the data was mistakenly attached to an email about health insurance….