WSOC-TV reports: The United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights did not fine Mecklenburg County for inadvertently providing Channel 9 with the personal medical information of thousands of health department patients in 2017. Records show Mecklenburg County self-reported the potential HIPAA violation on May 4, 2017. In March 2017, in…
Category: Government Sector
NZ: IRD privacy breach raises data handling concerns
Nine to Noon reports: Inland Revenue’s data protection protocols are being questioned after a woman received information about a stranger’s child support in a copy-and-paste error. The Wellington woman got a letter from Inland Revenue addressed to her that included the full name of a father who was paying child support, and his child. She…
TX: Statement and Frequently Asked Questions about the 2018 ERS OnLine Security Incident
From the Employees Retirement System of Texas, this breach information notice. Note that this was reported to HHS with ERS listed as a health plan, and the breach was reported as affecting 1,248,263 members, but also note that no medical or health information was reportedly involved. On August 17, 2018, the Employees Retirement System of…
GSA Took 800 Days to Notify Some Data Breach Victims
Joseph Marks reports: It took the General Services Administration more than 800 days to notify a handful of people that it had accidentally exposed their personal information, according to an audit released Friday. In another case, the agency took six months just to determine that a data breach related to background investigation information had occurred,…
Indiana National Guard reports ransomware attack to server
WISH-TV reports: The Indiana National Guard revealed Thursday that a state, nonmilitary server with identifying information of its personnel was the subject of a ransomware attack. The Guard said in a news release from Master Sgt. Jeff Lowry: “As a result of this action we are in the process of notifying personnel that may be affected,…
CT: City pays USD 2,000 in computer ransomware attack
AP reports: A Connecticut city has paid USD 2,000 to restore access to its computer system after a ransomware attack. West Haven officials said Thursday they paid the money to anonymous attackers through the digital currency bitcoin to unlock 23 servers and restore access to city data. Read more on Deccan Chronicle.