A council has been accused of putting residents who report litter and graffiti at risk from the perpetrators after the authority breached data protection laws by posting online the identities of those providing the tip-offs. Data protection watchdogs at the Information Commissioner’s Office have deemed that York Council has broken guidelines after it emerged the authority’s online…
Category: Government Sector
NZ: Inland Revenue Department has had 32 privacy breaches in the past year.
ONE News in New Zealand reveals a government department has had a series of privacy breaches. Following soon after the breach involving the Ministry of Social Development, reports of inadequate data protection involving the Inland Revenue Department are just what the government doesn’t need. Even worse, the department is getting a black eye in the press for…
SC: Vincent Sheheen Calls Data Hack News Delay Unacceptable
Is this just for political purposes or do these comments from South Carolina State Senator Vincent Sheheen really reflect his views on the timeliness of notification: “For Governor Haley and her administration to withhold news from us for sixteen days that our personal identity information has been stolen from state computers is completely unacceptable. And…
NZ: Inmates’ details put on Facebook
Shane Cowlishaw reports: A prisoner took a muster sheet containing the details of 52 other inmates out of jail, and posted it on Facebook. Milton prison in South Otago learned of the latest public sector privacy breach last weekend, after discovering the inmate had managed to sneak the sheet out when he was freed. The…
Former State Department Employee Pleads Guilty To Federal Charge in Identity Theft Scam
Rodney P. Quarles, Jr., 26, of Charlotte Hall, Md., pled guilty yesterday to a federal charge stemming from an identity theft scam in which he and others used stolen credit cards to make more than $70,000 in purchases. According to a statement of offense, signed by the defendant as well as the government, Quarles worked…
SC: 3.6 million Social Security numbers stolen from state Department of Revenue (update 1)
Ouch. Tim Smith reports: A foreign hacker stole a vast database of the South Carolina Department of Revenue and investigators told GreenvilleOnline.com that 387,000 credit card numbers and 3.6 million Social Security numbers have been exposed. Read more on Greenville News. Update 1: The paper also has a later article on the review of state agencies’…