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…
Category: Government Sector
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…
IRS says states must encrypt electronic tax records; Governor Haley attempts to extricate her feet from her mouth (UPDATED)
UPDATE: See comment by Don Moffett below this post who notes that the Governor was actually correct and the IRS’s statement is incorrect. Governor Nikki Haley of South Carolina should stop talking about the massive databreach at the Department of Revenue and let someone who actually knows something about data security speak for the state….
Stolen thumb drives might hold personal data on Ramstein students
Jennifer H. Svan reports: The theft of five thumb drives from an unlocked vehicle may have compromised the personal information of hundreds of pupils, their parents and staff members at a Defense Department school in Germany, school officials said Wednesday. Parents of more than 900 students at Ramstein Intermediate School were notified of the possible…
Two Utah websites claim hacker attacks cost them $180K; @ItsKahuna challenges the price tag
Back at the beginning of the year, the Salt Lake City Police Department and Utah Chiefs of Police were among a number of law enforcement organizations hacked in #OpPiggyBank. A hacker whose Twitter handle is @ItsKahuna was subsequently charged in the incidents. Now John Anthony Borell is challenging the organizations’ claims about what the hacks…
Forensic report on SCDOR breach
Here’s Mandiant’s report on the breach at the South Carolina Department of Revenue. From the Executive Summary, a summary of the attack: Summary of the Attack A high level understanding of the most important aspects of the compromise are detailed below. 1. August 13, 2012: A malicious (phishing) email was sent to multiple Department of…