Paris Cowan reports: Australian online dating operator Cupid Media breached the Privacy Act last year when its lax security provisions were exploited by hackers and the personal details of up to 245,000 of its customers stolen, the Privacy Commissioner has found. Cupid Media operates a number of niche dating forums based on ethnicity, sexual orientation…
Category: Non-U.S.
UK: Aspers (Milton Keynes) breach results in undertaking
The Information Commissioner’s Office announced that Aspers (gaming operator for Milton Keynes casino) has signed an undertaking after violating the Data Protection Act. The undertaking explains that an employee, trying to e-mail personnel data for a new office to central payroll, accidentally emailed the personal data of 219 employees to an external – and incorrect…
UK: MP’s former aide admits encouraging police spouse to hack email
The Press Association reports: The former parliamentary secretary of Bradford West MP George Galloway has pleaded guilty to a charge of encouraging her police officer husband to obtain emails without consent. Aisha Ali-Khan, 33, who worked with the Respect MP, admitted the charge during a brief hearing at London’s Southwark Crown Court. Read more on…
AU: Govt refuses to support data breach notification bill
Allie Coyne reports: The Coalition Government has refused to back a reinvigorated bill that would force companies to notify customers of a data breach, saying while it agrees with the concept in principle, the proposed legislation needs more work. In March this year Labor Senator Lisa Singh re-introduced the lapsed Privacy Alerts Bill, which failed to…
Northern Ireland: Prison service signs undertaking after Maze records sold at auction
From the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), with emphasis added by me: The prison service in Northern Ireland has been warned by the UK data protection regulator after a filing cabinet containing Maze Prison records was unwittingly sold at auction. The incident occurred in 2004 when a cabinet that officials thought was empty was sold at…
Ca: Henry v Bell Mobility: Another Federal Court case shows PIPEDA damages are hardly worth pursuing absent evidence of actual harm
Canadian privacy lawyer David T.S. Fraser writes: The Federal Court, in the recently issued decision in Henry v Bell Mobility 2014 FC 555 (not yet on CanLII or the Court’s site) has awarded a very modest sum of damages to a customer of Bell Mobility whose phone account was accessed by an impostor. At the hearing…