There’s a new commercially developed product that may help consumers detect medical ID theft or fraudulent use of their information promptly so it can be addressed. Given how research has shown that most people do not check their Explanation of Benefits statements and don’t report discrepancies or anomalies when they do find them, this has…
Police solve riddle of who stole files that blew up A-Rod’s career
A DNA match has unraveled the mystery of the stolen steroid files that Major League Baseball used to torpedo the career of New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez. Baseball investigators purchased the stolen files from Gary Jones, a convicted bank robber, for $25,000 last March, in a secret meeting in South Florida that Jones…
UK: Personal details of 1,600 illegal immigrants published on Home Office website for two weeks in data blunder
Matt Chorley reports: The personal details of 1,600 illegal immigrants have been published in online in a Home Office blunder. The names, dates of birth and immigration status of 1,598 immigrants involved with the family returns process were revealed on the government’s website. In a written statement to Parliament, immigration minister Mark Harper said measures…
Minnesota National Guard member accused of stealing Ft. Bragg soldiers’ identity info
CBS News/AP reports: A Minnesota National Guardsman faces federal fraud charges in the alleged theft of names, Social Security numbers and security clearance levels of roughly 400 members of his former Army unit in Fort Bragg, N.C. The Iraq War veteran intended to use the confidential material to create fake IDs for his militia, court…
Swedes uncover Disqus user security breach
David Landes reports: A group of Swedish journalists are sitting on a goldmine of 29 million online comments, with information about users’ identities, from news sites around the world thanks to a security flaw in debate moderation service Disqus. After outing several ‘online haters’ at home, which caused several resignations from the populist, far-right Sweden Democrat…
CA: Cottage Health System Notifies Patients of Data Security Incident (update)
Cottage Health System has learned that a recent security incident may have resulted in the disclosure of protected health information for certain patients treated at Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital, Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital and Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital between Sept. 29, 2009, and Dec. 2, 2013. On Dec. 2, Cottage discovered that a third-party…