CBC News reports: Newfoundland and Labrador’s largest health authority is reporting a privacy breach affecting thousands of its employees, including the loss of sensitive data like social insurance numbers, names and employee numbers. Eastern Health said a USB flash drive containing a spreadsheet of employees’ personal information went missing sometime between last Wednesday and Friday. At…
Category: Health Data
Heathcare.gov database stirs privacy worries
Michael Hardy reports: The government stores personal information on millions of Americans who have used the Healthcare.gov system, a situation which is raising privacy concerns as the recent successful attack that compromised Office of Personnel Management data makes plain the damage that hackers can do. Called the Multidimensional Insurance Data Analytics System, or MIDAS, the…
Saudi Arabia: Medical center in Jazan dumps patient files on the street
Arab News reports: Passers-by were surprised on Wednesday to see a private health center in Jazan had thrown out patient files complete with all health documents and personal information onto Prince Sultan Road. A large number of patient files had been thrown from the top of the center onto the public street, creating a huge…
Pot Shops to Close After Owner Admits to Identity Theft
Liberty Zabala reports: A former doctor’s guilty plea in federal court Wednesday will lead to shut down of six medical marijuana clinics across San Diego County. Defendant Nelson Leone, 72, of San Diego, pleaded guilty to identity theft for issuing forged recommendations under another doctor’s name. As a result, six medical marijuana clinics he owned…
IE: Free GP care registration site suffers data breach
HISI reports: The HSE’s registration system for under-6s free GP care has suffered a data breach as parents registering their children for the new scheme could see an application made by another person. As required, the breach was reported to the Data Protection Commissioner after “a very small number of people” could view data relating to…
Wearable fitness trackers tested for data leakage and poor security
Graham Cluley writes: Independent IT security testing authority AV-Test.org has put nine different fitness trackers under the microscope, in order to explore how well they are protecting users’ data. At first it may seem peculiar that the organisation, famous for its in-depth tests of anti-virus technology, has turned its attention to fitness trackers. But in…