Two companies have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they misrepresented the security of their mobile apps and failed to secure the transmission of millions of consumers’ sensitive personal information from their mobile apps. The FTC alleged that, despite their security promises, Fandango and Credit Karma failed to take reasonable steps to secure…
HHS releases security risk assessment tool to help providers with HIPAA compliance
A new security risk assessment (SRA) tool to help guide health care providers in small to medium sized offices conduct risk assessments of their organizations is now available from HHS. The SRA tool is the result of a collaborative effort by the HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and Office…
When to Disclose A Data Breach: How About Never?
Joel Schectman writes: When your company gets attacked by hackers, how much do you tell the public and when? Often the answers are nothing and never, according to an attorney assisting Target Corp. with legal issues arising from its December data breach. There was little consensus on when companies should report data breaches among business executives and officials…
Client data stolen from home of deceased employee?
At the time Chester Ju, an investment representative of McDermott Investment Services, passed away, he had certain client information records at home for his work. What happened to those records became the basis for a breach notification to New Hampshire and some of his clients. Although the personal representative for the deceased investment representative says he…
UK: Northamptonshire Police worker breached data law
A woman has admitted using police systems to access information on her ex-partner while employed by the Northamptonshire force. Julie Crust, 42, of Northfield Road, Northampton, admitted six counts of breaching data protection laws at Northampton Magistrates’ Court. The court heard she was employed as an administrative worker when the offences took place. Crust was…
MO: Former IRS Employee Indicted For Taxpayer ID Theft, Tax Fraud Conspiracy
A former employee of the Internal Revenue Service is among three defendants who have been indicted for stealing taxpayers’ identity information in order to receive fraudulent tax refunds. Taylor S. Knight, 32, and Michael J. Moore, 27, both of Kansas City, Mo., and Michael Stalcup, 42, of Farley, Mo., were charged in a six-count indictment…