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…
Category: Government Sector
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…
UK: Southwark Council warned after personal data was missing for two years
The London Borough of Southwark Council breached the Data Protection Act by misplacing a computer and papers containing 7,200 peoples’ personal information which were discovered in a dumpster earlier this year. In a press release issued today , the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said the computer and papers were mistakenly left at one of the…
APEC committee alerted to possible data breach (updated)
Dan Nakaso reports: Members of Honolulu’s APEC Host Committee who represent some of Hawaii’s biggest companies and institutions have been told their personal information may have been stolen after security clearances were requested for them to meet with President Barack Obama Saturday night during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. East-West Center President Charles Morrison sent…