MyFoxNY reports: Personal information — including names and some clinical data — of thousands of patients at Columbia University Medical Center ended up freely visible on the Internet, Columbia and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital have confirmed. The information on 6,800 patients was “inadvertently” placed on a server, hospital officials reported. But whose server? Were the data posted to one of…
Designing an Insecure Internet
Julian Sanchez also responds to the morning’s biggest story: If there were any doubt that the 90s are back in style, witness the Obama administration’s attempt to reignite the Crypto Wars by seeking legislation that would force Internet services to redesign their networks and products to provide a centralized mechanism for decrypting user communications. It cannot be stressed…
Update on Saint Mary's Regional Medical Center breach allegations
Last week I posted links to a controversy as to whether Saint Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Arkansas had actually experienced a privacy breach or not. The story just gets weirder and weirder. The medical center released the following press release, available on FierceHealthcare, but not, apparently on their web site or on the site…
French police bust network of mobile phone hackers
A report by AFP provides another reminder of how costly insider breaches can be: French police have busted a network of mobile phone hackers, a fraud worth millions of euros, and arrested nine people, including employees of cellular phone companies, investigators said Sunday. Three people were still in custody Sunday following the arrests across the…
When tables turn: ACS:Law now on defense?
MarkJ writes: Controversial solicitors firm ACS:Law UK (Andrew Crossley), which last week had all of its dirty email communication laundry leaked across the internet (here), is now facing more problems after Privacy International (PI) announced that it would take legal action against the firms breach of sensitive personal details. The emails were reportedly revealed on the evening of…
Lessons From A Security Breach
Ed Sperling writes: In late July Kern Medical Center’s information system came to a grinding halt. The hospital believed it had the standard security systems in place to protect its medical records. But for 16 long days that stretched into August, the hospital struggled to get its systems operational and isolate the problem from its…