The Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner has been notified by Alberta Health Services that a virus was present on the Alberta Health Services network in Edmonton. The virus impacted the network and Netcare, Alberta’s electronic health record, before it was discovered and removed. The virus is a new variant of a Trojan horse…
Category: Of Note
SSN Relatively Easy to Predict
Over on PogoWasRight.org, I’ve posted about a study released by researchers Alessandro Acquisti and Ralph Gross of Carnegie Mellon University. The study has significant implications for the use of SSN and for protecting against identity theft, even though a government spokesperson responded by seemingly downplaying the findings and their implications. If you would like to…
PRI Settles with Vermont AG
Payment Resources International, L.L.C. (PRI), a Newport Beach, California, company, will refund more than $18,000 to over 90 Vermont consumers and pay the State $30,000 to settle claims that it processed electronic debits (charges) from Vermonters’ bank accounts on behalf of telemarketers whose scripts were fraudulent or otherwise unlawful. Commenting on the settlement, one of…
VITA Faces Hacking Questions
Some Virginia lawmakers say they’re not getting the answers they need from Virginia’s Information Technology Agency or Vita. The FBI and Virginia State Police are investigating a security breach that took place in the state’s prescription drug monitoring database. On April 30th, a hacker accessed about 35 million computerized prescription records. Sandra Ryals, director of…
Prescription Database Breach Could Cost Contractor
The hack of the Virginia Prescription Monitoring Program may have serious consequences for contractor Northrop Grumman. The company had received a 10-year $2.3 billion state contract to upgrade the state’s computer system. According to stories in the Washington Post and Daily Press, the state has had issues with Northrop Grumman over the past few years…
CFTC Fines Interbank for Security Breach
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission today simultaneously filed and settled charges against Interbank FX, LLC (Interbank), ordering Interbank to pay a $200,000 civil monetary penalty for violating rules designed to protect the confidential personal information of consumers. The CFTC order also requires Interbank to establish a comprehensive security program that provides administrative, technical, and…