Garrett Haake reports: At least several dozen, but possibly hundreds, of confidential medical records were scattered to the winds outside Research Hospital on Monday afternoon, potentially exposing the personal and medical information of scores of former patients of Midwest Women’s Healthcare. […] The man collected some 70 patient records and provided them to 41 Action…
Clerical error leads to hundreds of veterans getting wrong cancer test results
An error involving the Atlanta VA Medical Center resulted in 249 veterans getting the wrong cancer test results. One veteran told Channel 2 news in Atlanta he first received test results that were positive for cancer. Then he got test results that were negative (and was relieved). But then, after cancelling a follow-up visit he had scheduled after getting…
Lowe’s notifying employees whose personal information was exposed on Internet by vendor error (updated)
Lowe’s is notifying some current and former vehicle drivers as well as employees who access and administer a driver file system that their personal information was exposed on the Internet for nine months. In their notification letter dated today, Scott Purvis, Vice President of Human Resources for Lowe’s writes: Lowe’s contracts with a third-party vendor to provide a…
South Korea Increases Data Breach Fines, Lowers Liability Threshold
James Lim reports: Recent data breach amendments (Bill No. 10479) to South Korea’s framework data protection law increase available fines; lower the liability threshold that regulators must show to levy fines; allow compensation of individual plaintiffs without a showing of damages; and require notification of affected individuals within 24 hours of discovering a breach, a Korea…
U.S. Mines Personal Health Data to Find the Vulnerable in Emergencies
As soon as I saw the headline in the New York Times, I figured someone was going to raise privacy concerns. I wasn’t wrong. Sheri Fink reports: The phone calls were part Big Brother, part benevolent parent. When a rare ice storm threatened New Orleans in January, some residents heard from a city official who had gained…
Disgraceful misuse of medical records in Texas political campaign
This is just plain ugly politics. And any person involved in making these records public for political purposes is not fit for any public office.