J.D. Tuccille writes: The geniuses at the Internal Revenue Service gave sensitive data on over a million taxpayers to a printing contractor wiout checking the bona fides of any of the contractor’s employees, says the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. The news comes from a report dated last month but just released to the public. This…
Former Georgia deputy sentenced in identity theft plot
Phil W. Hudson reports: Sean Lydell Street, 39, a former Richmond County, Ga., Deputy Sheriff, was sentenced Aug. 12 to two years in prison for stealing personal identification information to be used as part of a fraudulent tax refund scheme. Street worked for the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office from 2007 through 2012 and during the…
Another breach in post-secondary education reminds us again that no one’s enforcing data security at the federal level
What St. Francis College in Brooklyn Heights, NY wrote to enrollees and applicants after a security incident: On June 28, 2014, a St. Francis employee reported the loss of an external hard drive. Compare that to what they told the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office in their cover letter: On June 28, 2014, St. Francis…
Military Companies Brace for Rules on Monitoring Hackers
Chris Strom reports: Companies that do business with the Defense Department are bracing for new U.S. rules requiring them to report computer breaches to the Pentagon and give the government access to their networks to analyze the attacks. Groups representing the contractors are raising concern about the Pentagon rooting around their data, and say smaller…
PA: Investigation urged of security breach in Fayette County computer system
Mary Pickels reports: Fayette County Commissioner Angela Zimmerlink said on Tuesday that further investigation is needed into an alleged security breach caused when Commissioner Al Ambrosini directed IT department head Kebin Holbert to increase access to the county computer system for a financial consultant working for the county. Referring to a letter from acting Controller…
14 Individuals Charged with Trafficking Identities of Puerto Rican U.S. Citizens
Fourteen individuals were charged in three indictments in Puerto Rico with conspiracy to commit identification fraud, money laundering, aggravated identity theft and passport fraud in connection with their alleged roles in a scheme to traffic the identities and corresponding identity documents of Puerto Rican U.S. citizens. Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice…