Tim Lohman reports: The confidentiality of personal information collected and used by the public sector can be, and has been, easily compromised, a Victorian Auditor-General report has found. The Maintaining the Integrity and Confidentiality of Personal Information report, which examined information security in three Victorian government departments, found that the ability to penetrate databases, the…
Category: Commentaries and Analyses
AU: Private files at risk of exposure
Rick Wallace reports: The Victorian government has failed to protect its citizens’ private data, even within its highest echelons, and its computer systems remain vulnerable to attacks from hackers and data thieves. An audit of the government’s handling of personal and private information has unveiled problems in the Department of Premier and Cabinet, Treasury and…
The Year Of The Mega Data Breach
Andy Greenberg reports: Glance at 2009’s data breach statistics, and you might think the IT world had scored a rare win in the endless struggle against cybercrime. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, government agencies and businesses reported 435 breaches as of Nov. 17, on track to show a 50% drop from the number…
41% of workers have stolen corporate data – survey
From Cyber-Ark Software’s press release: Stealing employer data has become endemic in our culture. According to a survey conducted with 300 office workers in New York City examining the impact of the recession on ethics and security, 85 percent of the respondents admitted to knowing that downloading corporate information from their employer was illegal, yet…
AMA meeting: Better data protection needed from Blues
Damon Adams reports: The BlueCross BlueShield Assn. should expand credit protection and increase identity theft insurance to physicians affected when a laptop computer containing doctors’ personal information was stolen from an employee’s car, according to policy adopted by the American Medical Association House of Delegates. The new policy calls for the Blues association to offer…
Ca: Lost laptops shock watchdog
Gordon Kent reports: Alberta’s privacy watchdog says he’s “stunned” by a report the city has lost an average of one laptop a month that could contain personal data. Only half the 48 laptop disappearances over the last four years were investigated, and just once did officials look into whether a lost or stolen computer contained…