From Rep. Ed Markey: A bipartisan group of lawmakers, including Reps. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Joe Barton (R-Texas), co-Chairmen of the Congressional Bi-Partisan Privacy Caucus, today released responses to letters sent to nine major data brokerage companies querying each about how it collects, assembles and sells consumer information to third parties. The companies –Acxiom,…
Category: Commentaries and Analyses
Published Data Empowers
Over on The New School of Information Security, Adam Shostack takes off from Jordan Robertson’s article on Experian’s too-frequent data breaches to discuss a topic near and dear to my heart: the value of transparency and detailed information. Do read his post.
UK: Public sector squanders £2m due to data leaks
Dan Worth reports: Public sector organisations including the police, NHS and councils have had to pay out £2m in fines as a result of poor data handling practices over the past 18 months. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) was given the ability to levy penalties of a maximum of £500,000 in April 2011 in an…
What will Congress do now that it knows about numerous breaches involving Experian? And what will the FTC do?
Jordan Robertson of Bloomberg News provides media attention to a problem I’ve noted previously on this blog – that Experian suffers a lot of data breaches* where a client’s login is compromised and misused by unauthorized individuals. His coverage will hopefully inform national conversations about transparency, consumer protection, and breach notification. First is the issue…
Experian Customers Unsafe as Hackers Steal Credit Report Data
Jordan Robertson reports: When hackers broke into computers at Abilene Telco Federal Credit Union last year, they gained access to sensitive financial information on people from far beyond the bank’s home in west-central Texas. The cyberthieves broke into an employee’s computer in September 2011 and stole the password for the bank’s online account with Experian Plc,…
FTC Finalizes Settlements with Two Businesses that Exposed Consumers Sensitive Information Over P2P Networks
From the FTC, a follow-up to a previously-reported action: Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has accepted as final settlements with two operations it charged with illegally exposing the sensitive personal information of thousands of consumers by allowing peer-to-peer file-sharing software to be installed on their corporate computer systems. Settlements with Utah-based debt…