Human Resources and Skills Development Canada seems to be vying for a spot on the wall of shame. Last month, they disclosed that an employee had lost an unencrypted USB drive with 5,000 Canadians’ social insurance numbers, medical records, and other information. Even normally mild-mannered and polite Canadians got upset over that one. Now today, when…
Category: Government Sector
On the wall of shame, SCDOR’s breach should rank embarrassingly high
Embarrassing reminders about the South Carolina Department of Revenue (SCDOR) breach continue. The Associated Press reports on testimony in yesterday’s hearing by the state’s House oversight panel: Revenue has been criticized for not using the state information technology division’s computer monitoring services — which are offered but not required — before the hacking. While the…
GA: Personal Info Left on City Computer Hard Drives Sold to Computer Repair Shop
Andrew Reeser reports: A computer repair shop in Macon that bought used computers from a government auction site says the ones they were sold had personal information of city employees still in the hard drives. A police report says BC Computer Repair in Macon bought the computers on govdeals.com in 2011. Then, on January 5th…
Former IT security manager for SCDOR testifies about the lack of security controls prior to its breach
Jeffrey Collins of Associated Press reports: The Department of Revenue was more concerned with keeping employees from accessing news, sports and social media websites on their work computers than protecting taxpayer data like Social Security numbers, a former computer security chief at the agency said Thursday. Read more on Aiken Standard. Tim Smith of Greenville…
Cn: Leaks prompt postal overhaul
Xu Wei reports: China’s postal authorities have ordered an overhaul of the express delivery sector amid growing concerns over personal information being leaked and traded by workers. The State Post Bureau said in a recent statement that delivery companies should ensure user information is well protected throughout their procedures, and that authorities will be conducting spot checks on firms, focusing specifically on personal information security.
Former state employee sentenced to federal prison for ID theft
Some follow-up on a previously reported case of some folks in Alabama who stole and used identity info as part of a tax refund fraud scheme. The conspirator sentenced today worked for the Alabama Department of Corrections.