There’s really nothing new in here that regular readers of this blog won’t know already, but Karen Freifeld reports: A decade of lawmaking by U.S. states to ensure consumers are told when their data has been hacked still lets companies such as Target Corp wait weeks or even months to disclose security breaches. Forty-six of…
Oops – some Burlington residents’ SSN exposed on the city’s website
The City of Burlington in Vermont is notifying some of its residents that their names and Social Security numbers had not been redacted from their tax abatement requests that were submitted to the city’s board and uploaded to the city’s website as part of a clickable agenda for the meeting. The information was uploaded on…
Jury Convicts Georgia Woman for Stolen Identity Tax Refund Fraud
A jury in the Middle District of Georgia convicted Kimberly Michelle Banks on Jan. 14, 2014, of conspiring to file false federal income tax returns in the names of stolen identities, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Banks was also convicted of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and theft of government money….
Texas doctor charged with aggravated identity theft for misusing Medicare patients' names in fraud scheme
Miles Moffeit reports: A federal grand jury has handed down additional charges against Dr. Tariq Mahmood, whose rural hospital chain collapsed last year amid reports of reckless care and alleged fraud. The Dallas businessman now faces seven counts of aggravated identity theft, according to papers filed in U.S.district court in Tyler. Those come on top of eight…
Starbucks caught storing mobile passwords in clear text
Evan Schuman reports: The Starbucks mobile app, the most used mobile-payment app in the U.S., has been storing usernames, email addresses and passwords in clear text, Starbucks executives confirmed late on Tuesday (Jan. 14). The credentials were stored in such a way that anyone with access to the phone can see the passwords and usernames…
AU: Cyber attacks: pharmacies, patient records targeted 'ransomware' attacks
Jake Sturmer and Alison McClymont report: Pharmacists have become the latest targets of sophisticated computer hacks known as ransomware attacks, which lock up PCs until victims pay up. Once the hackers plant the virus, the files on a computer become encrypted and unable to be accessed. Victims have a set amount of time to pay…