The Associated Press reports: In a bid to avert a government crisis, Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven on Thursday reshuffled his minority Cabinet, replacing two members, after opposition parties demanded the ouster of three government ministers over one of the largest security breaches in the country’s history. Lofven says the heads of the interior and…
Category: Government Sector
Huge Swedish Data Leak Punished With (Only?) Half a Month’s Paycheck
Catalin Cimpanu reports: The Swedish government has exposed sensitive details on millions of citizens in one of the biggest government screw-ups ever, and the official responsible for the whole fiasco was fined only half of her’s monthly salary, which is 70,000 Swedish krona — or around $8,500. The leak happened in September 2015, when the…
Alabama Man Indicted in Alleged $19 Million Stolen Identity Refund Fraud Scheme
A federal grand jury sitting in Montgomery, Alabama returned an indictment, which was unsealed, charging a Phenix City, Alabama resident with conspiring to file fraudulent refund claims, mail fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, announced Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Acting U.S. Attorney A….
UK: Sutton Council apologizes after publishing names of benefit recipients in a ‘concerning’ data bungle
Liam McInerney reports: Sutton Council has apologised after it “inadvertently” published names of members of the public who have received benefit payments. Those who received payments in May and June this year for disability, adoption, fostering allowances, day care respite and special needs education that totalled over £500 had their names and payments listed on…
Over 5 million Social Security numbers exposed in Kansas breach: report
Morgan Chalfant reports: A breach of a Kansas Department of Commerce system exposed more than 5 million Social Security numbers to hackers, according to a report from a local news outlet. The Kansas News Service obtained information through a public records request that revealed that roughly 5.5 million Social Security numbers from individuals in 10 states were…
The Government Has Finally Stopped Publicizing Abuse Victims’ Personal Information
P.R. Lockhart reports: Almost two months after revelations that the government had posted personal information of undocumented victims of abuse in a publicly searchable database, US Customs and Immigration Enforcement says that it has corrected the issue. In May, Mother Jones reported that the names of undocumented abuse victims were searchable in the Department of Homeland Security’s…