John Kennedy reports: Reports of data breaches to see exponential rise once mandatory reporting rules under GDPR come into force, warns DPC Helen Dixon. Ireland’s Data Protection Commissioner (DPC), Helen Dixon, has reported that the number of complaints over data privacy has increased from 932 in 2015 to 1,479 in 2016. In the annual report for…
Category: Commentaries and Analyses
Leak of diabetic patients’ data highlights risks of giving info to telemarketers
Personal and health information of 918,000 vulnerable seniors was exposed on the Internet for months by a software developer working on a project. No one would have even known about it if the leak hadn’t been found by a guy with “too much time on his hands.” Before you give your personal or health insurance…
Auditor: City employee improperly used personal information database
Lynnsey Gardner reports: A Duval County clerk of courts employee is under fire after a City Council auditor’s report showed the employee improperly accessed personal information from a statewide database. The Driver and Vehicle Information Database contains a wealth of confidential personal information for Florida drivers — such as driver’s license number, home address, license…
Study: Risk of data breaches at hospitals is greater at larger facilities, teaching hospitals
Patrick Ercolano writes: The risk of data breaches at U.S. hospitals is greater at larger facilities and hospitals that have a major teaching mission, according to a study led by a researcher at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. More than 30 hospitals that were part of the study each have experienced data breaches at…
Developing: Justin Shafer arrested, charging with cyberstalking FBI agent’s family
In what has become an increasingly bizarre case, researcher Justin Shafer was arrested Friday evening, detained in Dallas County Jail over the weekend on a “hold” request from the FBI, and then transferred to federal court today, where he was charged with cyberstalking. For the benefit of those who haven’t followed this story from the beginning: Shafer…
Feds: ‘Security researcher’ behind KSU data breach broke no federal law
Kristina Torres reports: Federal investigators say a “security researcher” was behind a data breach at Kennesaw State University’s Center for Election Systems, and his probing of the system broke no federal law. University officials announced the finding Friday after being briefed by investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, ending a monthlong probe over a…