This really unacceptable, and for the prosecutor to suggest that the sentence was fair because there was no public safety risk totally minimizes the importance of citizens feeling a measure of confidence that state employees are not snooping in their files. Chao Xiong reports: A former state employee who pleaded guilty to breaching thousands of…
Category: Government Sector
900 social insurance numbers taken in Canada Revenue Agency security breach involving Heartbleed
Meghan Hurley reports: The social insurance numbers of 900 Canadians were swiped from the Canada Revenue Agency website after its Internet software was compromised by the so-called Heartbleed computer bug. Andrew Treusch, the commissioner of the Canada Revenue Agency, said in a statement the CRA has worked around the clock to implement a “patch” for…
AU: ACCC admits to personal data breach
Hannah Francis reports: The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has apologised for a privacy breach after it left an unknown quantity of personal email addresses accessible online. The ACCC said the addresses of subscribers to its information alert services for the Recalls Australia, Product Safety Australia, SCAMwatch and ACCC Public Registers websites were “inadvertently made…
State apologizes after exposing crime victims’ personal info online
The North Carolina Department of Public Safety is apologizing after a breach exposed crime victims’ information online. Kelly Hinchcliffe and Laura Leslie of WRAL report that the news station discovered the breach: The breach happened sometime in late 2012 after the department created a new website and moved it to a state server, according Department…
TX: Man allegedly tied to hacker group Anonymous accused of targeting ‘Monitor,’ La Joya ISD, Hidalgo County
Ildefonso Ortiz reports: A Donna man with ties to the international computer hacking group Anonymous is accused of trying to break into various Web servers, including those of Hidalgo County, La Joya ISD and The Monitor. Thursday morning, a somber-looking Fidel Salinas went before Magistrate Judge Peter Ormsby, who informed him of the new accusations presented…
Reports of data protection breaches doubled for Welsh councils last year — BBC
BBC reports that Welsh councils had twice as many breaches in 2013 as they did in 2012. Here are their findings from the results of their FOI request: Cardiff council recorded 14 breaches including financial information about 15 employees was given to third parties and information being stolen from an employee’s car, who was later disciplined….