Back on August 2, in response to yet another breach involving a law firm’s records, I wrote to the American Bar Association to ask what the ABA advised members in terms of disposal of records. I got a pro forma response that was totally non-responsive to the question I had posed to them. I wrote…
Breach Penalties: Comparing U.S., U.K.
Marianne Kolbasuk McGee writes: The United Kingdom and the United States are both cracking down on healthcare organizations that have experienced information breaches. But they’re taking very different approaches. In the U.K., the emphasis is on publicizing frequent financial penalties, often for relatively small breach incidents. In the U.S., the focus has been on announcing…
Medical ID theft victim can sue bank and credit rating agency for reporting false information to credit agencies
The frustrating saga of Eric Drew, a cancer patient who had his identity stolen by a hospital worker, continues. Annie Youderian of Courthouse News reports: A cancer survivor whose identity was stolen by a hospital worker can sue Chase Bank and a credit service company for reporting false information to credit-rating agencies, the 9th Circuit…
Steamboat’s Ski Corp. accidentally releases employee data
Steamboat Today reports: Current and former Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp. employees were notified by mail last week about the accidental release of personal information. According the letter, Ski Corp. officials learned July 13 that current and former employee W-2 information — including names, addresses, social security numbers and payroll information — was emailed to…
House Passes Bill to Curb Tax Return Identity Theft
Michael Cohn reports: The House has approved legislation to increase the criminal penalties against identity thieves who steal taxpayer information to file fraudulent returns. The Stopping Tax Offenders and Prosecuting Identity Theft Act, H.R. 4362, was introduced in April by Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., and House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, R-Texas. The bill…
FL: Personal information found on Ocoee’s website
It was a tip from WESH-TV to Ocoee Mayor Scott Vandergrift about personal information on the city’s website that got the material quickly removed from the public eye. The documents were eight pages long and included names of more than 150 current and former city employees, as well as personal information like dates of birth…