Monique Garcia report: The Social Security numbers of more than 36,000 people enrolled in a college savings program run by the Illinois treasurer’s office appeared on the outside of envelopes mailed to participants late last month. The potentially compromising information was printed near the space designated for the recipient’s name and address on quarterly newsletters…
Category: Paper
GA: Crime victims’ personal information found in used car
A video news report from Georgia is worth noting. It seems a now-former police officer in the Clayton County Police Department sold his car to someone who, months later, discovered that a pad left in the car contained a lot of personal and sensitive details of crime victims and other incidents the officer had investigate….
UK: Oliver Letwin breached data protection laws, report confirms (updated)
Hélène Mulholland reports the follow-up to a breach reported previously on this blog: Oliver Letwin committed a series of data protection breaches by dumping correspondence from constituents in a park bin close to Downing Street, according to the information commissioner. The letters and emails contained the names, addresses and contact details of about 20 individuals,…
Abandoned Jackson Hewitt tax office’s returns put customers at risk
Kathleen Pender reports: A Bay Area woman named Kara got an upsetting call the morning of Oct. 22. The caller said she had found Kara’s 2007 tax return lying in a pile with hundreds of others on the ground in front of an abandoned Jackson Hewitt tax preparation office at 1734 Divisadero St. in San…
UK: Vince Cable apologises over binned letters
Rajeev Syal reports: Vince Cable has been forced to apologise publicly for the second time in three weeks after confidential documents were discovered in bins outside his constituency office. The unshredded paperwork, which contained letters from ministers, was found dumped outside the business secretary’s Twickenham office. Personal details of constituents were also found in transparent…
UK: Vince Cable apologises for disclosing confidential documents
Business Secretary Vince Cable has apologised ”unreservedly” after confidential documents were discovered in bins left outside his constituency office. Unshredded paperwork, including correspondence from ministers and letters which contained personal details of his constituents, were found dumped in transparent recycling bags outside the Liberal Democrat’s Richmond and Twickenham HQ over a nine month period. Read…