Betty Ostergren of The Virginia Watchdog has been a passionate advocate for eliminating Social Security numbers from documents posted on the web by government agencies. To that end, she has occasionally posted examples of what she has found on publicly available web sites, a tactic that I have questioned while admiring her dedication and determination….
Category: U.S.
Hundreds of Aviva customers notified of data breach
Aviva USA is notifying hundreds customers that their Social Security numbers may have been acquired after malware infected one of their computers. In a May 28 letter (pdf) to the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office, Aviva’s Chief Privacy Officer Carolyn Gee explained that the exposure occurred while the company “was conducting online research to locate…
IL: Confidential CPS Documents Found Dumped in Alley
Erin Mendez and Sean Leidigh of WGNTV report: Years of CPS [Chicago Public Schools] student’s confidential, sealed records somehow made their way to a Lakeview alley early this morning. “I came upon my dumpster, totally filled. See this box? Sped –special education records..Lakeview,” said Art Kuesel, who found the documents behind his home. Inside, he…
Bits ‘n Pieces
In the justice system: Paul D. Gale, the owner of Roadhouse Grill & Tavern, has been arrested on charges he made a fraudulent insurance claim and collected phony charges using customers’ credit card numbers. More. Gerry Lynn McAfee was sentenced to 33 months in prison for stealing the identity of a Vietnam War veteran and…
OK: Medical files found in a dumpster
Meg Alexander of KFOR in Oklahoma reports that hundreds of medical files containing Social Security number and medical records from the office of from Dr. David Cavallaro, a podiatrist, were found in a dumpster. Oklahoma reportedly has no law governing disposal of medical files. Now if there was a national data protection law that required…
Recovered UAMS computer held worker data
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that Lawrence Nichols, a former University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences housekeeping employee, has been charged in the theft of a computer that contained personal information of thousands of current and former employees. The theft occurred May 18th. The computer was used to make identification badges for UAMS employees, students and…