CBC News reports on a breach in Winnipeg: Garbage bags filled with confidential financial information were found blowing around in a North End back lane Tuesday, and people living in the area say they’re furious about it. The bags contained tax return documents that include people’s names, social insurance numbers and in many cases, addresses…
Category: Non-U.S.
UK: Comet draws fire over data protection
A useful reminder to take a breath after a mistake lest you compound your problems: Electricals retailer Comet faces an investigation by the data protection watchdog after it accidentally sold a TV set on its website for 2p, and then revealed the email addresses of more than 500 people who took advantage of the bargain…
Canadian Privacy Commissioner troubled by poor computer disposal practices and lack of controls for wireless devices in government
The federal government’s use of handheld communications devices and its practices for disposing of unneeded paper documents and surplus computers could expose the personal information of Canadians to unauthorized disclosure, Privacy Commissioner of Canada Jennifer Stoddart has warned. The findings, stemming from two separate privacy audits conducted by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of…
AU: ABC Warns Bluebird AR Viewers About Security Breach
Angus Kidman reports on a breach involving the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that potentially affects those who registered for the ABC’s Bluebird AR interactive drama earlier this year. In an email, ABC wrote: It has just come to the ABC’s attention that between Sept 9 and October 4 this year, an error in migrating files meant…
German Government Moves on Draft Law Regarding Employee Data Protection
On August 25, 2010, the German government approved a draft law concerning special rules for employee data protection, originally proposed by the Federal Ministry of the Interior. A background paper on the draft law was published on August 25, 2010. The draft law would amend the German Federal Data Protection Act (theBundesdatenschutzgesetz or “BDSG”) by adding provisions that…
Ireland: Company directors could be held liable for data breaches
Dick O’Brien reports: A leading security expert at Eircom has warned that company directors could soon be held liable for the loss of sensitive information through security breaches. Paul Dwyer, security GRC principal at Eircom, said that once the Irish government transposed the international Convention on Cybercrime into law, directors could be prosecuted if it…