It’s one of those “small breaches, big potential harm situations.” The Dyfed-Powys Police force has been fined£150,000 after an email containing information that could be used to identify eight sex offenders was sent to a member of the public in error. The monetary penalty notice explains that the community member’s email address (an external email) was…
Category: Government Sector
Washington marijuana applicants’ personal info subject to data breach
Ben Livingston reports: The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board is working to notify marijuana license applicants whose personal information was accidentally distributed by the agency in response to a public records request. The data may include social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, financial information, tax information and attorney-client privileged information. The LCB had redacted…
In wake of OPM breach, few sign up for protection services
Meredith Somers reports: Federal employees don’t think their personally identifiable information (PII) is safer than it was one year ago, but new numbers from the Office of Personnel Management show those employees are not taking advantage of the free protection offered in the wake of the massive cyber breach. About 21.5 million current and former federal…
House Energy And Commerce Committee Reviews Cybersecurity Practices At HHS
King & Spalding write: On May 25, 2016, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health held a hearing to examine the Department of Health and Human Services’ (“HHS”) cybersecurity responsibilities. The hearing focused on legislation that would create a new office within HHS, the Office of the Chief Information Security Officer (“CISO”), consolidating information…
Spanish police organization hacked; agents’ info allegedly dumped
HackKnowledge.in reports that a hacker who uses the Twitter handle @FkPoliceAnonOps claims to have hacked the Mutual Social Security Police (mupol.es) and dumped information on 5,400 agents. The leaked data contains full names, email addresses, national ID numbers, and hashed passwords. Although law enforcement is investigating, it does appear that there is any official confirmation as to the accuracy…
Hackers target Bermuda police computer network
The Royal Gazette reports: Malicious hackers have made an unsuccessful attempt to break into the Bermuda Police Service’s computer network. According to Michael DeSilva, the Commissioner of Police, the system was “recently targeted in a ransomware attack” — referring to software that blocks access until a sum of money is paid. “Although the attack was…