NBC Washington reports: A Maryland police department says it experienced its “worst computer network attack” in its history, after the attacker accessed its network through a longtime software vendor. Salisbury police Capt. Rich Kaiser tells The Daily Times of Salisbury that the department’s entire internal computer network was compromised Jan. 9 in a ransomware attack….
Category: Government Sector
Alaska notifying at least 500,000 residents about data security breach previously disclosed in June
Update: The state subsequently revised its estimate to 87,000 letters. How did it get the numbers so wrong — apart from the question of why it has taken so long to send out notifications. This does NOT inspire confidence in the state’s ability to protect ePHI and to notify people promptly in the event…
Privacy breach hits 45,000 recipients of Ontario’s disability support program
Kristin Rushowy reports: Ontario’s social services minister has apologized after the Mississauga disability support program office mistakenly emailed the private information of 45,000 people to 100 recipients. “On December 20th, due to a clerical error, the Mississauga ODSP office unintentionally shared some individuals’ information over email,” said Lisa MacLeod in a statement. [..] The December…
Knoxville employees’ information exposed online for almost one year
WVLT reports: Employees with the City of Knoxville received a notification on Thursday that their private information, including their Social Security numbers, may have been revealed after data was ‘inadvertently’ posted on a procurement website. According to a city spokesperson, last year, personal information of employees who were employed as of Feb. 1, 2018, was…
PHI of 1,002 Lebanon VA Medical Center Patients Exposed in Email Error
HIPAA Journal reports: Lebanon VA Medical Center in Pennsylvania has discovered the protected health information of hundreds of elderly patients has been impermissibly disclosed to a family member of a veteran. In November 2018, a member of staff at Lebanon VA Medical Center emailed a document to a family member of a veteran who was…
Ca: Woman says childhood sexual trauma details leaked in privacy breach
Jack Julian reports on a truly horrific leak: A Dartmouth, N.S., woman whose personal information was exposed in the province’s worst-ever privacy breach says the experience has left her angry and hurt. “I felt violated,” the woman said. CBC News is shielding the woman’s identity because the files leaked by the province’s online freedom of information portal…