Anne D’innocenzio and Marley Jay of AP report: Target and MasterCard say they’ve agreed to settle lawsuits over the discounter’s pre-Christmas 2013 massive data breach. Target said late Wednesday it has set aside up to $19 million for banks and credit unions issuing MasterCards that were caught in the data breach that compromised 40 million credit…
Curious employee breached privacy of 39 patients, Island Health authority admits
Canadian Press reports: The health authority on Vancouver Island says an employee who had nothing to do with the care of 39 patients accessed their health records out of curiosity about friends or neighbours. Suzanne Germain, of Island Health, said an investigation began last November after allegations that a longtime worker was looking at confidential…
Vermont Dept. of Labor employee improperly possessed information from state unemployment insurance database
On March 27, the Vermont Department of Labor began notifying individuals that a now-former employee improperly accessed and acquired their information from an unemployment insurance database. The personal information, which included names and Social Security numbers, was found in the former employee’s possession, but investigators have found no evidence to date that the information was transferred…
Hackers Make off With Data on 100,000 French State TV Contacts
AFP reports: Hackers bypassed insufficient safeguards to make off with data on 100,000 contacts held on French state TV computers, broadcasters said Wednesday. The attack occurred Tuesday and involved the theft of “a limited amount of personal data (names, postal and e-mail addresses and/or telephone numbers),” France Televisions said in a statement. The data heist…
MA: Salisbury Fire Department’s computers crippled by possible ransomware attack
AngelaJean Chiaramida reports: A nasty computer virus that had some of the hallmarks of a “ransomware” attack hobbled the Salisbury Fire Department recently, destroying computer files and temporarily forcing staffers to resort to pen and paper. […] The Salisbury Fire Department’s problem began about two weeks ago, when Souliotis’ desk computer started acting strangely when…
Controversial data breach bill passes House committee
Elise Viebeck reports: The House Energy and Commerce Committee approved a controversial bill creating national data security standards after a chaotic markup that revealed deep Democratic concerns about the measure. The Data Security and Breach Notification Act appears headed for further changes prior to a vote by the full House. The committee approved it on…