Associated Press reports: The government’s own watchdogs tried to hack into HealthCare.gov earlier this year and found what they termed a critical vulnerability — but also came away with respect for some of the health insurance site’s security features. Those are among the conclusions of a report released today by the Health and Human Services…
Category: Government Sector
TX: Shared hard drive left Bexar County Sheriff’s Office employees’ info vulnerable
KSAT reports: The human resources department at the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office has notified employees of a possible data breach. A spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office said at one point a shared drive containing employee information could have been accessed by people outside of the department. Read more on KSAT.
NI: Former police officer’s damages award accounted for data breach distress, rules NI court
Out-Law.com reports: A former police officer’s claim for a £20,000 damages award to be significantly increased to reflect the distress he suffered as a result of the theft of his sensitive personal data has been rejected by a court in Northern Ireland. The former Special Branch officer, referred to only as ‘CR19’ in the judgment…
FL: Tax refund fraud scheme involved two insiders misusing databases
WTXL reports that five people have been indicted in a tax refund fraud scheme that included two employees misusing their access to databases. One of those indicted, Katrina Pratt, had been an administrative assistant in human resources at Florida A & M University (FAMU), and allegedly used the identities of 40 students there as part…
Top official fired for records security breach at St. Louis Recorder of Deeds office
Adam McDonald reports: A top official in the St. Louis Recorder of Deeds Office has been fired for a vital records security breach of about 19,000 unauthorized copies of death certificates. The acting Recorder of Deeds, Jennifer Florida, says Preggy Meeker, the alleged suspect, allowed employees to log into Missouri’s vital records system by using…
AU: Government agency leaks customer details without telling
Beau Donelly reports: A government authority has leaked the billing and contact details of Victorians online, but decided against telling affected customers even though the privacy breach posed a “medium to high” level threat. The undisclosed state authority responsible for the breach notified Privacy Victoria about problems affecting its online payment system after discovering the…