Radio New Zealand reports: The Tertiary Education Commission is worried about a potential privacy breach after a briefcase containing sensitive information on the performance of the nation’s academics was stolen from one of its members. The briefcase belonged to a member of the Commission’s performance-based research fund panel, which assesses research by university staff and…
Category: Government Sector
This ‘n that
Some of what I’m reading this morning while working on my first cup of coffee: I was surprised to read that the Department of Defense is involved in notifying military members and families who paid state income taxes in South Carolina about the massive SC Department of Revenue breach. Does the DOD normally get involved…
AZ: Public printing of court documents halted due to security breach
Scott Orr reports: Citing a security breach in a software update, Sandra K. Markham, clerk of Yavapai County Superior Court, on Monday ordered that the ability to print documents from public-access court document computer terminals be shut down. “One of my clerks was being an investigator, and she just tried to see if something he…
Maybe next time they’ll heed the warning? (updated)
One of the privacy cases that I covered over the last 5+ years on PogoWasRight.org concerned the government’s ability to require extensive background checks on employees and employees of contractors. That case, NASA v. Nelson, was eventually decided by the Supreme Court in January 2011. EPIC had filed an amicus brief in the case on…
UK: Plymouth City Council fined £60,000 for sending child neglect report to wrong person
I’m guessing that Plymouth City Council isn’t giving thanks today – the Information Commissioner’s Office smacked them with a fine of £60,000 for a data protection breach that occurred in November 2011 when the details of a child neglect case were sent to the wrong recipient. The breach occurred when two social workers used a shared printer…
NZ: Immigration staff axed over privacy breaches
Danya Levy reports: Immigration New Zealand has breached the privacy of more than 200 people – most of whom were not informed – in incidents in the past three years that led to 10 staff members losing their jobs. It follows privacy breaches by state agencies including Work and Income, Inland Revenue and ACC, and…