The FTC has been active in going after companies that do not provide adequate data security. Today, they announced that Compete, Inc. had settled charges involving unfair or deceptive practices associated with collecting and sharing personal information of users. Of interest here, however, are the charges in the complaint that relate to data security: Compete’s…
Category: Of Note
PLS Financial/Payday Loan Store settles government charges of improper disposal of customer records
Via Courthouse News: PLS Financial Services/The Payday Loan Store/PLS Check Cashers, which have more than 300 outlets in 9 states, expose customers to ID theft by dumping personal financial information into Dumpsters, the USA says in Federal Court. The lawsuit was brought at the request of the FTC, and I’ve uploaded the complaint and stipulated…
NZ: Personal info on children, beneficiaries and contractors of Ministry of Social Development found on kiosk computers (UPDATE4)
Radio New Zealand reports what appears to be a data leak that may have started two years ago: Information about children in the care of Child Youth Family, beneficiaries and contractors employed by the Ministry of Social Development has been freely accessible through public computer kiosks at Work Income offices. Freelance journalist and blogger Keith Ng…
Almost 280,000 to be notified of hack at Northwest Florida State College; ID theft reported
Jim Turner reports: An information security breach has been reported involving employee and student records at Northwest Florida State College in Niceville. […] According to the state Department of Education, the breach included more than 3,000 employee records and approximately 76,000 Northwest College student records containing personal identification information; and approximately 200,000 records with information…
Average insurance cost per data breach rises to $3.7M: Study
Mike Tsikoudakis reports: The average insurance cost per data breach incident increased sharply from $2.4 million in 2010 to $3.7 million in 2011, according to a new NetDiligence study released Tuesday. Based on insurance claims that were submitted in 2011 for incidents that occurred from 2009 to 2011, the average number of records exposed decreased…
Anatomy Of A Brokerage IT Meltdown
Regulators last year issued the SEC’s first-ever privacy fine against broker-dealer GunnAllen for failing to protect customer data. But former IT staffers say regulators didn’t seem to know half of this cautionary tale of outsourcing and oversight gone wrong. Mathew J. Schwartz adds some mind-boggling details to the case: Dan Saccavino, a former Revere Group…