Caroline Chen reports: 23andMe Inc., the genetic-testing startup backed by Google Inc. (GOOG), is sharing DNA data on about 650,000 individuals with Pfizer Inc. (PFE), to help find new targets to treat disease and to design clinical trials. The collaboration with Pfizer is the broadest announced so far in 23andMe’s ambitious plan to become a repository for humanity’s…
UK: Sensitive personal data exposed in Open Datasets
If at first you don’t succeed, persist. And blog. Jon Baines writes: Imagine, if you will, a public authority which decides to publish as Open Data a spreadsheet of 6000 individual records of adults receiving social services support. Each row tells us an individual service user’s client group (e.g. “dementia” or “learning disability”), age range (18-64, 65-84, 84 and over),…
UK: British Afghanistan troops' medical records lost
Matthew Holehouse reports: The medical records of hundreds of British soldiers are feared to have been lost in Afghanistan, it can be revealed. Two unencrypted laptops used by Army medics in theatre carrying the records of up to 1,300 troops were discovered to be missing in a recent equipment audit. The audit discovered that nine…
Why tort liability for data breaches won’t improve cybersecurity
Stewart Baker writes: … So, how much incentive for better security comes from the threat of data breach liability? Some, but not much. As I’ve been saying for a while, the actual damages from data breaches are pretty modest in dollar terms, and the pattern of losses makes it very hard to sustain a single class,…
GA: Brooklet officer fired after security, identity breach
Holli Deal Saxon reports: A former Brooklet police officer fired for sharing information about candidates for the town’s police chief position said he was terminated unfairly and improperly, but the Brooklet city councilman who supervises the police department says the officer was fired for breaking privacy laws. Former police Sgt. Jonathan McGahee was terminated Dec….
Obama to push cybersecurity, identity theft and online access plans
Jim Puzzanghera reports: President Obama will focus on high technology next week, announcing efforts to strengthen cybersecurity, prevent identity theft and increase Internet access, the White House said Saturday. The initiatives will be included in his State of the Union address, which Obama is previewing before the Jan. 20 speech, rather than saving all his…