Joe Davidson reports on a Commerce Dept. breach that involved the transmission of unencrypted PII: Why did it take the Commerce Department so long to notify employees that their personal information, including Social Security numbers, had been let loose on the Internet? On Monday, employees were informed by letters mailed to their homes about “a…
Category: Breach Incidents
Hotel chain Starwood warns of possible credit card fraud
Customers who stayed at one of the hotels owned by international hotel conglomerate Starwood within Germany may have been victim to widespread credit card fraud, the company confirmed on Tuesday. The New York-based company owns chains such as Sheraton, Westin and Le Méridien, and believes that some customers who carry “Miles and More” cards –…
Texas Bank Sues Customer Hit by $800,000 Cyber Heist
Brian Krebs reports: A machine equipment company in Texas is tousling with its bank after organized crooks swiped more than $800,000 in a 48-hour cyber heist late last year. While many companies similarly victimized over the past year have sued their banks for having inadequate security protection, this case is unusual because the bank is…
TN: BlueCross computer theft already costs $7 million
Dave Flessner reports: What was initially assumed to be just a glitch in some soon-to-be-discarded computer equipment last fall has grown into one of Chattanooga’s most expensive property crimes of the year. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee said Monday it already has spent more than $7 million to respond to the theft last October of computer…
(follow-up) NY: Breach of privacy earns time in jail
Kenneth C. Crowe II reports on a breach previously covered on this site: A retired clerk at the state Department of Taxation who stole the identities of taxpayers, deceased family members and children to run up more than $200,000 in credit card charges will serve six months in jail. Rensselaer County Court Judge Andrew Ceresia…
(follow-up) Woman files suit against newspaper
Stephanie Porter-Nichols provides a timely reminder that an indictment is not a conviction and that people’s lives can be devastated by media accusations that are inaccurate. The following is an update to a case first reported in March 2009: A Chilhowie woman is suing the Smyth County News & Messenger, claiming that she was defamed…