Confidential council files, some containing sensitive personal data, have been found dumped in a bin in Telford. Telford & Wrekin Council said an immediate investigation was launched after the documents – 58 in total – were found by a member of the public. Officers were today contacting all the people whose data was included to…
Category: Government Sector
UK: ICO levies two monetary fines to councils for e-mail gaffes that exposed sensitive information
The The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has served monetary penalties to North Somerset Council and Worcestershire County Council after staff at both authorities sent highly sensitive personal information to the wrong recipients. The news comes as the Information Commissioner is pressing for stronger powers to audit data protection compliance across local government and the NHS….
Skagit County Health Department information leaked on Internet
Tahlia Honea reports: Information about people using services at the Skagit County Health Department and other county departments was inadvertently leaked onto the Internet recently. In mid-September a student who had been given an assignment to Google her own name, discovered that some of her private information was on the Internet and alerted the Health…
NJ: Four charged with stealing identities; two were DMV employees
Two state motor vehicle clerks and two businessmen from Burlington County have been charged with stealing identities from government records and selling them for as little as $200. Mercer County Prosecutor Joseph L. Bocchini, Jr. announced the arrests yesterday, saying the busts were the result of seven-month investigation at two New Jersey Motor Vehicles Commission…
What They Didn’t Know: Big Brother Watch report on breaches highlights why we need mandatory disclosure
Mainstream media in the U.K. have picked up on a new report based on data obtained under freedom of information requests by Big Brother Watch (BBW). The Guardian reports, ” Councils breached personal data 1,035 times over three years,” while BBC’s headline is “Personal data ‘lost by 132 councils,” and eWeek’s headline is “132 Councils Named And…
Confidential files from Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission found in public trash bin
AP reports: The state government watchdog says confidential personal information was found in documents from a job agency for Ohioans with disabilities that were discovered in an outdoor trash bin. A spokesman for Inspector General Randall Meyer said it was unclear Monday how many Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission records were involved and that the office…