UC Berkeley is adding something a little different this year in its welcome package — cotton swabs for a DNA sample. In the past, incoming freshman and transfer students have received a rather typical welcome book from the College of Letters and Science’s “On the Same Page” program, but this year the students will be…
B.C.: ‘Human Error’ Behind Mistake Where Patient Information Released
Laurena Weninger reports: Personal patient information sent out by Interior Health to those to whom it did not belong is being chalked up as “human error.” “This breach was caused by a setting on a new device not being correctly set, resulting in double appointment letters being stuffed into envelopes,” said a letter sent out…
Four Kids From South Florida Led the World’s Biggest Online Identity Heist
For those who are interested in the backgrounds and psychological aspects of hackers, Tim Elfrink has an article in the Broward – Palm Beach New Times on Albert Gonzalez, Jonathan James, Christopher Scott, Stephen Watt, names recognizable for their roles in the massive credit card number hacks that became cautionary tales.
2 men face over 130 identity theft charges each
The Associated Press reports: A traffic stop in Tampa has lead to the arrest of two men who forged documents using public jail inmate data. Police say 21-year-old Bobby Wilson Jr. and 24-year-old Sebastian Leonard face over 130 charges each of identity theft, including fraudulent use of personal information and obtaining credit cards by fraudulent…
Dutch Public Transportation Website Leaks Private Passenger Information
Lucian Constantin reports: A government-run website promoting the OV-chipkaart smart card, which is currently being introduced in public transportation across The Netherlands, has been found leaking sensitive private information on over 168,000 passengers. A grey-hat hacker proved that he could access the name, address, birth date, phone number or e-mail for anyone in the database,…
VA breaches more numerous than we knew
Miami VA Healthcare System wasn’t the only VA center that experienced a breach involving paper records containing protected health information on January 19 of this year. According to OCR’s web site, VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System also experienced a breach involving paper records: VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System State: Colorado Approx. # of…