TVNZ reports: Photographs showing a day in the life of Prince William posted online by St James’ s Palace have caused an embarrassing security blunder for the Ministry of Defence in the United Kingdom. The ministry was yesterday forced to reset the user names and computer passwords of dozens of Royal Air Force staff after…
Category: Exposure
Oops! Taliban Reveal Identities of Their Mailing List Members
There are e-mail gaffes and then there are e-mail gaffes. Muhammed Lila reports that a Taliban spokesperson exposed more than 400 recipients on a Taliban e-mail list: The names were disclosed in an email by Qari Yousuf Ahmedi, an official Taliban spokesperson, on Saturday. The email was a press release he received from the account…
Chicago election site exposed personal information
John Byrne and Hal Dardick report: Chicago election board officials confirmed Tuesday that sensitive personal information for about 1,200 people was exposed online but denied allegations by a computer security firm that the breach was much broader. The firm, Forensicon, announced it uncovered the problem while researching voting patterns. It alleged that personal information of…
Ca: Personal information of nearly 300 Wilfrid Laurier students found online
Elizabeth DiCesare reports: While preparing to apply to Canada’s police forces, Bob Baumgartner, a Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU) graduate, decided to do a Google search of himself, and found more than he was expecting. After typing in his old e-mail address, Baumgartner found a list of 297 former WLU students that included their personal contact…
HootSuite privacy fail sees hundreds of emails sent to users in an hour, complete with other people’s details
Matt Brian reports: There appears to be something wrong with the internal systems over at social management company HootSuite, after it started sending out email reminders to users warning them that their free 60-day HootSuite Pro trial was about to end – but also included the names and email addresses of other people using the…
Gaping hole in Google service exposes thousands to ID theft
John Lettice reports: A security flaw accessible via Google’s UK motor insurance aggregator Google Compare has potentially exposed vast numbers of drivers to identity theft. The vulnerability, the existence of which has been verified by The Register, made it possible for comprehensive personal details – including names, addresses, phone numbers and job – to be harvested…