Stephen Condron and Christopher Leake report: Police are investigating how criminals managed to steal £1million from the taxman by accessing a Government computer system and granting themselves rebates. The thieves filed returns online using the passwords of genuine self-assessment taxpayers – then diverted the money to bogus accounts. The sting prompted concern yesterday that the…
Category: Government Sector
Former Employee of U.S. Attorney’s Office in Philadelphia admits using defendants’ identities to commit fraud
A former employee with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (“EDPA”) pleaded guilty today to federal charges, admitting she used a government-issued computer and defendants’ personal information to perpetrate a fraud totaling approximately $34,435, Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph J. Marra, Jr., announced. Shakila Nakia Wallace, 25, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty…
Website exposes sensitive details on military personnel
Dan Goodin reports: Programming errors on a website that helps commuters carpool to work are exposing sensitive information of workers for hundreds of employers in Southern California, including at least one military installation. The bugs, discovered last month on RideMatch.info, allow hackers access to a variety of personal information, including individuals’ names, home addresses, phone…
UK: Secret files on care kids found in Wolverhampton garden shed
Paul Cole reports: Sensitive information on vulnerable children in social services’ care was found in a Midland garden shed by a builder, it emerged last night. The confidential information is believed to have included private and personal case files of hundreds of children who were held in care in the Black Country. Sensitive files had…
UK: Probe after civil servant details given out with FOI
The Scottish government is under investigation by the UK information tsar after it mistakenly provided confidential details about civil servants to the Sunday Herald. Internal documents with individual computer ID and phone numbers were accidentally included in papers about energy policy released last week after a freedom of information request. The government has been accused…
Rap over loss of sensitive data
Express and Star in the UK reports: A memory stick with details of vulnerable children and their families was lost by a Sandwell Council worker on the way home, it emerged today. The incident sparked an investigation by the Information Commissioner and the council has found to be in breach of the Data Protection Act….