Howard Buck reports: Vancouver Public Schools said on Monday it had discovered a “security breach” in its payroll data system that threatens the release of district employees’ personal information, such as names, birth dates and Social Security numbers. Also, the banking account numbers of employees who use direct deposit “have been compromised,” the district said…
Category: Non-U.S.
Ca: Data breaches on the increase
David Canton writes: Federal Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart recently released her annual report to Parliament on PIPEDA, the private-sector privacy law. While her comments on social networking were highlighted and widely reported by the media, the report contained some other interesting trends that have not been as widely discussed. One of the most notable developments…
Ca: Computer theft suit bites feds for $751G
Peter Zimonjic sheds more light on the costs of a breach: The federal government paid out $751,750 to avoid a class action lawsuit after personal information was stolen from a Canada Revenue Agency office. The theft of six computers from the Tax Services Office in Laval, Que., on Sept. 4, 2003, jeopardized the personal information…
Play.com hit by ordering glitch
Customers of Play.com have contacted the BBC to report problems with the online retailer’s ordering system. Many customers have received e-mails from Play.com reporting the despatch of an order they did not place. Those opening the orders found contact details, including names and addresses, for other Play.com customers. […] On some forums customers said they…
Too diligent? Royal Mail worker ‘demands baby’s signature’
Richard Savill reports: John Berry, 70, said he was startled when he was told by the worker at a sorting office that he could not pick up the package on behalf of his new-born granddaughter, Amber. The retired aerospace engineer cycled to the depot in Cheltenham, Glos, after a postman dropped a card through his…
Government accused of ‘cover up’ over lost farmer tapes
The Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has been accused of a “cover up” after two back-up tapes went missing containing the banking details of around 100,000 farmers. The tapes are said to have gone missing this spring, with Defra officials having been informed in July. The tapes were lost by contractor IBM,…