Betty Ostergren of The Virginia Watchdog has been a passionate advocate for eliminating Social Security numbers from documents posted on the web by government agencies. To that end, she has occasionally posted examples of what she has found on publicly available web sites, a tactic that I have questioned while admiring her dedication and determination….
Category: Miscellaneous
UK: Lost laptop exposes thousands of pension records
John Leyden of The Register reports on the latest data protection cockup: A lost laptop containing the personal data of 109,000 Pensions Trust’s members has sparked the latest in a growing list of information security breach alerts. The missing machine was stolen from the offices of NorthgateArinso, suppliers of the Pensions Trust’s computerised pensions administration…
Update: Laptop stolen from UFCW also contained Canadians’ data
Remember that laptop stolen from United Food and Commercial Workers International in March? Some new details are emerging. First, it turns out that Canadians’ details were also on the laptop. Bill Kaufmann of the Calgary Sun reports that a local union president said the laptop contained information on 28,000 Alberta members, including their social insurance…
Security breach exposes foster children’s data on the internet
On February 19, the National Center for Children and Families was alerted that some foster children’s personal information including Social Security numbers was exposed on the internet. An investigator hired by the agency tracked down the source of the breach: a family member of a former employee had inadvertently exposed the files via file-sharing software….
NC: Thief Snatches Computer With Personal Info From Charity
WSOCTV reports that a burglar who broke into East Burke Christian Ministries stole a computer containing personal information and Social Security numbers of more than 1,000 people who sought help from the ministry.
Immigrant Legal Resource Center database hacked
The Immigrant Legal Resource Center was apparently hacked (pdf) at some time prior to April 10, but there’s no indication in their notification to the NH Attorney General’s Office as to how many people had their names and credit card numbers compromised.