Michael Riley reports: The U.S. Secret Service is investigating a possible security breach at Sears Holdings Corporation, after a series of cyber attacks on retailers that have exposed the credit-card data of millions of U.S. consumers, according to a person familiar with the investigation. Read more on Bloomberg.com. The Chicago Tribune has a response from…
Employees sue UPMC over security breach
Well, that was fast. And perhaps premature. Kris B. Mamula reports: Two UPMC McKeesport Hospital employees have sued their employer, claiming the hospital and corporate parent failed to protect the personal security information of its workers. Employees Barbara Dittman and Gary Douglas claimed their financial and W2 data were hacked by unknown fraudsters, who opened bank accounts in their names and…
Oregon man reveals Wisconsin patient privacy breach (update2)
How many times have we seen cases where faxes with patient info are sent to the wrong number, and not once, but repeatedly – despite a recipient’s efforts to alert the sender and get them to correct their records? Sometimes going to the patients affected and the media will get faster results. In my own…
MN: Privacy and civil liberties at stake in trial over filming of paramedics in Little Canada
Chao Xiong reports: Civil liberties and personal privacy clashed Wednesday in the trial of a Little Canada man charged after filming paramedics as they helped an intoxicated and possibly suicidal patient. Kevin Beck, prosecuting for the city of Little Canada, argued that Andrew J. Henderson disrupted the paramedics when he refused to obey their request…
VALIC notifying customers of breach in 2007 (updated)
The Variable Annuity Life Insurance Company (VALIC) is notifying customers of what appears to be an old security lapse. In a letter template submitted yesterday to the California Attorney General, the firm writes: It recently came to our attention that a financial advisor formerly associated with VALIC was in possession of information relating to some of…
L.A. Care Health Plan replacing some members' cards after unintended exposure
L.A. Care Health Plan, the largest public health plan in the country, is notifying some members whose personal information may have been exposed to other members due to a glitch in their online payment portal. In a letter to those affected, Veronica Richardson, Privacy & Information Security Officer for L.A. Health Plan writes: We are sending you this letter…