David Lazarus writes: West Hills resident Victoria Afonina works as a computer programmer for a major supermarket chain, so she knows probably better than most people how vulnerable her personal information is once it gets out into the open. She routinely tells banks and other financial-service providers that they can’t share her information with other…
Category: Breach Incidents
UK: Social work records found in second-hand filing cabinet
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has found Lancashire County Council in breach of the Data Protection Act after social work records containing sensitive personal data relating to several individuals were found in a filing cabinet purchased second-hand by a member of the public. The records were duplicates of documents held in the council’s offices and…
OR: City staff’s private info sent out with water bills
Elissa Harrington and KVAL.com staff report: A list of the names and Social Security numbers of employees of the City of Oakridge was sent out with monthly water bills in this town of about 1,400 households. Don Hadley is one of the residents who got a little more than he bargained for with his most…
(follow-up) Northern District of Illinois Foreshadows Tough Row[e] to Hoe for Identity Exposure Plaintiff, but Denies Motion to Dismiss
Brendon Tavelli writes: On January 5, 2010, Judge William Hibbler of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois became the latest federal district judge to share his views about whether an increased risk of future harm based on the inadvertent exposure of personal information is a legally cognizable harm. In Rowe v….
NC: Wake School System Released Private Checking, Routing Number
David N. Bass reports: Leaders of a conservative parent group in Wake County are upset that the school system’s public information office released a copy of a personal check from one of its founding members that included her account number. Kristen Stocking, who serves on the Wake Community Schools Alliance’s steering committee, criticized officials for…
Time employee fired for misusing customer data
On January 4, Time Inc. alerted the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office that a customer service employee in Florida may have misused customer credit card data provided by several customers as part of their calls to customer service. The employee was terminated, and Time reported the matter to law enforcement. On December 31, Time sent…