The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is reminding organizations that they must make sure that their data protection policies reflect how the modern workforce are using personal devices for work. With a YouGov survey earlier this year showing that 47% of all UK employees now use their smartphone, tablet PC or other portable device for work purposes there…
Article: Routes for breaching and protecting genetic privacy
A draft version of an article by Yaniv Erlich and Arvind Narayanan, “Routes for breaching and protecting genetic privacy,” has been uploaded by the authors to Dropbox, where you can download and read it. From the paper: Abstract: We are entering the era of ubiquitous genetic information for research, clinical care, and personal curiosity. Sharing these datasets is…
Washington psychologist whose laptop was stolen from his car has license to practice suspended
Back in March, PHIprivacy.net noted that a psychologist’s laptop containing PHI on 652 clients of Washington Department of Social and Health Services had been stolen from the psychologist’s car. As we reported at the time, the laptop was recovered from a pawn shop. Today, there was an interesting follow-up from KING5, who report that Dr. Sunil Kakar’s…
Huge Leak Of Documents Leaked For #OpGoldenDawn By #Anonymous
Today Anonymous hacktivist have announced another huge leak of documents which comes from Greece’s MOFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe). Anonymous hacktivist have claimed this leak and dubbed it #OpGoldenDawn but have not stated how they obtained it which means it could be a malicious insider or external…
Burglary at Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County compromises clients' personal and medical information
Lawyers are supposed to protect clients’ information, but it seems the Legal Aid Society of San Mateo County played with fire until its clients were burnt. During a burglary of their offices on August 12, ten of their laptops with clients’ personal information were stolen. In a letter to those affected, M. Stacey Hawver, Executive Director, writes: We…
Privacy breaches in VA health records wound veterans
Carl Prine of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports on an investigation they conducted on privacy breaches involving veterans’ health records. Some of their findings: … VA workers or contractors committed 14,215 privacy violations at 167 facilities from 2010 through May 31, victimizing at least 101,018 veterans and 551 VA employees. Photos of the anatomy of some were posted…