Once again, a breach involving what appears to be over-transparency in government: Devon County Council is currently examining dozens of documents which had been made available on its website to assess the amount of damage done. The authority took the action after the Echo made it aware that it had published financial details relating to…
Category: Government Sector
Gaffe reveals civil servants’ exit plans
Ian Swanson reports: The Scottish Government has issued an apology after it inadvertently revealed the identities of more than 100 civil servants negotiating severance packages for themselves. An e-mail sent to employees to update them on the government’s early retirement and voluntary severance process displayed the e-mail addresses of all their colleagues who were receiving…
SC: Veterans’ Personal Info Exposed by Aiken V.A. Employee
Brett Buffington reports: Personal information, including social security numbers of over 2500 local veterans, may have been exposed by an employee at the V.A. Center in Aiken. The revelation comes after a month-long investigation by WJBF News Channel 6. Reporter Brett Buffington first asked officials at the Aiken office and their parent, the Norwood V.A….
VT: Barton employee info may have been compromised
Gina Bullard reports: The town of Barton is reporting a security breach that may have exposed personal information. Town officials say they recently discovered spyware on a computer in the town offices affecting the payroll program. They do not know if confidential information, like Social Security numbers, were accessed. Vermont State Police were notified and…
UK: Council printer mix up breached data protection laws
Probably everyone has accidentally left some papers in a shared printer at one time or another. But when papers containing sensitive personal data get scooped and included in a mailing to an uninvolved their party, you may wind up violating the Data Protection Act. According to the Information Commissioner’s Office, that’s pretty much what happened…
Calif. property tax payment system hacked from Philippines
Mike Harris reports: Ventura County’s online credit card payment system was apparently hacked from the Philippines, enabling scam emails to be sent to many residents who used the system to pay their 2007 property taxes, officials said this week. Treasurer-Tax Collector Steven Hintz said the phishing emails appeared to be sent over the weekend in…