The Associated Press reports that two women were arrested in Round Rock, Texas after they were found going through the trash behind an Extended Stay America hotel, allegedly to find information that could be used for identity theft and fraudulent purposes. KEYE TV reports that in this case, it may not have been the trash that posed a risk…
Category: Exposure
ME: Former employees sue Washington County sheriff over release of personnel information
Bill Trotter and Judy Harrison report: Seventeen ex-employees of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office have sued Sheriff Donnie Smith over the collection and release of their personnel information as part of Smith’s unsuccessful effort to contest the ballot eligibility of two political opponents earlier this year. […] The complaint, filed Monday in Washington County Superior Court,…
Mother says daughter’s school records posted on Instagram
WSB-TV in Atlanta reports: An Atlanta mother is upset after she says her daughter’s personal files were left out in a classroom and someone posted pictures of them on Instagram. Maisha Harris says the files showed her daughter’s Social Security number on them and she’s worried about identity theft. “It shows schools, name, her last…
NC: 70+ Lenoir County employees compromised by data breach
WNCT reports that more than 70 Lenoir County employees have been notified that their names and Social Security numbers were exposed due an error by a Human Resources employee who neglected to redact the data in a salary report. Kinston provides some additional details. The unredacted report was sent to one person, who had worked in law…
UK: Herts police admits data breach which published confidential details of 61 people on government website
Herts and Essex Observer reports: HERTS Constabulary is blaming a “computer error” after confidential information about people involved in anti-social behaviour cases was uploaded onto a Government website. The names and addresses of 61 individuals were posted on the Herts ‘local priorities’ pages on Home Office website police.uk. Read more on Herts and Essex Observer.
FCC jumps into data security; plans $10 million fine for carriers that breached consumer privacy
Back in 2013, I blogged about a breach involving TerraCom and YourTel. Their breach response was so poor that I devoted two posts to criticizing them. But as bad as the breach and their response were, things got even worse when Scripps News kept investigating and uncovered more problems. It was no surprise, therefore, to learn…