I’ve often pointed out how breach notification letters to those affected may omit details that consumers might want to know but breached entities probably prefer we not know. I came across another example today. Let’s start with what happened, as described by attorneys for Vector Security to the Maryland Attorney General’s Office. Vector Security provides…
Category: Commentaries and Analyses
Kierkegaard & Perry Labs report hack through a “known bug” in their platform
I think it would be fair to say that Kierkegaard & Perry Labs, Inc’s breach notification to Maryland in July impressed me somewhat unfavorably. KPL was reporting a hack that had compromised some customers’ names, addresses, and credit card numbers with expiration dates and CVV codes. Their investigation revealed that 8 customers’ information was acquired (not…
This hacker might seem shady, but throwing him in jail is bad for everyone
Timothy B. Lee writes: On Friday, the U.S. government filed its brief in the appeal of Andrew “Weev” Auernheimer, who was convicted of federal hacking charges for downloading hundreds of thousands of customer e-mail addresses from AT&T’s Web site. The government says the conviction was proper, but many security researchers and civil liberties advocates argue that the…
Clark & Anderson accounting firm notifies thousands after unencrypted backup drive stolen from employee’s car
A Maryland accounting firm had to notify 2,906 Maryland residents after an unencrypted backup drive was stolen from an employee’s car at his home. The theft occurred on August 4, but Clark & Anderson, P.A. didn’t learn of it until August 8. In a letter dated August 30 to the Maryland Attorney General’s Office, they…
Experian reports another breach of its credit report database (update 2)
I haven’t been seeing as many breach reports by Experian this year, which could be a good sign, although it just could be that some states haven’t updated their breach lists in while. In any event, one just showed up on New Hampshire’s site that elevated an eyebrow. In a letter dated September 16 signed…
LabMD Responds to FTC Complaint: Claims Agency Lacks Enforcement Jurisdiction
Just received this press release from Cause of Action with LabMD’s response to FTC’s complaint: Cause of Action (CoA), a government accountability organization, filed an answer to an aggressive and arbitrary enforcement action brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against LabMD, a small cancer diagnosis company. CoA is defending LabMD against a complaint brought by the FTC in…