The names and Social Security numbers of at least 27,000 Commerce Department employees were exposed to a risk of identity theft following an inappropriate transfer of the personal information in mid-July, according to a letter sent to department employees last week. An employee with the National Finance Center mistakenly sent an Excel spreadsheet containing the…
TNCC computer tech says access now cut off
It may be a sign of the times that even the risk of a data breach becomes newsworthy. Last week, the Daily Press reported that a former part-time computer help desk technician at Thomas Nelson Community College claimed that he had been laid off almost three weeks earlier, but that he still had computer access…
Medical records found in nurse’s yard
Hundreds of highly confidential medical documents including a parents’ plea for help for her mentally ill daughter have been found dumped in a nurse’s backyard. The documents, found in see-through recycle bags in easy reach of passers-by, contained sensitive information about patients from across South London including names, addresses and whether they had arthritis, bunions,…
Police files found in dumpster
Hundreds, perhaps thousands of personal files from the Scranton Police Department were found unshredded in a dumpster, according to a news story on WNEP. “One or more files that should have been shred were thrown into the dumpster,” said Scranton Director of Public Safety Ray Hayes. He admitted that a mistake was made. Newswatch 16…
PerlMonks suffers unholy hack
Web developer site PerlMonks is obliging users to change up their passwords, following a successful hacking attack. The community website, which provides a forum for users interested in Perl programming and related subjects, such as web applications and system administration, posted a notice (extract below) admitting the hacker had breached its systems in May. The…
Confidential Wandsworth medical records found dumped in Sutton
Hundreds of highly confidential medical documents including a parents’ plea for help for her mentally ill daughter have been found dumped in a nurse’s backyard. The documents, found in see-through recycle bags in easy reach of passers-by, contained sensitive information about patients from across South London including names, addresses and whether they had arthritis, bunions,…