Not everyone thinks the ICO made a good decision in the first fines it levied for violation of the Data Protection Act. Jason Stampers writes, in part: But anyone hoping that the ICO was going to come down hard on such breaches will be dismayed. Since the ICO now has the power to levy fines…
UK: Hacker fined over Soas student password scam
A computer hacker who broke into the email accounts of hundreds of students has been fined £21,000. Daniel Woo, 23, a Bulgarian, admitted repeatedly posing as a student at the School of Oriental and African Studies in Bloomsbury, central London. Police said Woo, of Knightsbridge, took financial data, and fraud later occurred in some accounts….
NHS Choices criticised for leaking information to Facebook
Jeremy Kirk: The UK’s National Health Service plans to make clearer the privacy policy of its Choices health information website, which shares browsing information with Facebook, following complaints from a security expert and a lawmaker, an NHS spokesman said Thursday. The NHS Choices website incorporates Facebook’s “Like” button, which enables users to share information they find…
DPA fines – why ICO got it right
Stewart Room writes about the first fines imposed by the U.K.’s Information Commissioner’s Office: I’ve heard two arguments that are critical of the ICO fines. They go something like this: (1) the fines were too low and (2) it’s wrong of ICO to fine a Local Authority when it didn’t fine Google. Let me try…
Former Sprint-Nextel employee sentenced for improper disclosure of phone records to cocaine dealer
Amy Quesnel, 29, of Georgia, Vermont was sentenced yesterday to six months imprisonment to be followed by four months of home detention. Quesnel had previously pled guilty to a violation of the Telephone Records Privacy Protection Act, which carries a maximum sentence of ten years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. U.S. Attorney Coffin stated that…
When in doubt, report
Sta-Home Health & Hospice in Mississippi reported a potential security breach to HHS this week. Because I could find no media coverage or other information on the incident online, I contacted them for additional information. According to a spokesperson with whom I spoke today, on the evening of September 15, their offices were burglarized…