Trevor Brown reports: After hearing a report that identified numerous security lapses, Wyoming lawmakers are considering a bill that would require school districts to better protect students’ personal information. A legislative committee was briefed Tuesday on a recent state Department of Audit report that found 42 of the state’s 48 school districts had issues related…
Category: U.S.
Mid-America Apartment Communities employee busted for attempting to sell residents’ info
A Mid-America Apartment Communities employee who was caught selling current and former residents’ and applicants’ personal information to an undercover federal agent has led the Memphis-based firm to notify all those whose details the employee had access to – details that included names, addresses, driver’s license numbers, Social Security numbers, and bank account details. Through their…
Experts: Hacking of Astros wasn’t advanced, but team’s computer defenses weren’t either
Evan Drellich reports: Both the offender and victim in professional sports’ first hacking scandal might share one trait: a lack of sophistication. Whoever made their way to private Astros information did not appear to do so with an advanced method of entry or cover-up beyond the capacity of any professional programmer. […] At the same…
Seven Charged in North Texas as Part of Largest National Medicare Fraud Takedown in History
Some of the data theft referred to in the charges was previously reported on PHIprivacy.net in 2011 and 2014. Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell announced today a nationwide sweep led by the Medicare Fraud Strike Force in 17 districts, resulting in charges against 243…
Lawyers and ethical hackers weigh in on Astros hack
Robert Patrick interviews a number of attorneys and white-hat hackers about whether the government is likely to pursue charges under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act in this piece in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
U.S. employee data breach tied to Chinese intelligence: sources
Joseph Menn reports: The Chinese hacking group suspected of stealing sensitive information about millions of current and former U.S. government employees has a different mission and organizational structure than the military hackers who have been accused of other U.S. data breaches, according to people familiar with the matter. While the Chinese People’s Liberation Army typically…