Not a good day to be a public employee in Massachusetts, it seems. Here’s the second breach report of the day, this one by John P. Kelly: An unknown number of canceled checks bearing Social Security and bank account numbers of Rockland town employees are missing after wind knocked them from a loaded recycling truck….
Category: Breach Incidents
MA: Hingham to inform 1,300 employees of compromised personal data
Molly A. K. Connors reports: More than two weeks after a Hingham official inadvertently sent dozens of people a document containing the names and Social Security numbers of everyone who worked for the town last year, town officials said they will notify the 1,300 employees of the breach Wednesday afternoon through e-mail and first class…
When the road to ID theft is paved with good intentions
Nancy Amons reports that some Nashville, Tennessee flood victims discovered that their personal information was publicly available online after they submitted documentation such as canceled checks and other sensitive information online to obtain property tax relief. It seems that the Metro Assessor of Property had tried to make things easier for people to upload documentation…
Break’s over: after decline in 2009, breach reports appear to rise in 2010
The Verizon breach analysis report released this past week reported declines in 2009 in both the number of records compromised and the number of breaches Verizon was asked to investigate. Their reported decline in number of breaches has some confirmation in reports from the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse and the Identity Theft Resource Center, who…
Recent computer thefts at Montefiore affected 39,000
As a brief update on the Montefiore Medical Center breaches reported previously: According to a hospital spokesperson with whom I spoke today, the Finance Department theft affected 16,000 patients, while the School Health Program theft affected 23,000 students and their families. No arrest has been made in either case yet. The hospital declined to be…
New ID theft targets kids’ SS numbers
Bill Draper of the Associated Press reports: …. Hundreds of online businesses are using computers to find dormant Social Security numbers — usually those assigned to children who don’t use them — then selling those numbers under another name to help people establish phony credit and run up huge debts they will never pay off….