From McClatchy Newspapers: A hacker has infiltrated a computer server housing the personal data of 236,000 women enrolled in a UNC-Chapel Hill research study. Among the information exposed: the Social Security numbers of 163,000 study participants. Though the intrusion was detected in late July, computer forensics experts say it may have happened two years ago,…
Department Of Defense Putting Data At Risk
J. Nicholas Hoover reports: The Department of Defense risks exposing personally identifiable information and other sensitive data because it isn’t consistently following proper procedures in preparing computer< equipment for disposal or reuse, the military's inspector general has found. In an evaluation of DoD internal controls and processes, the inspector general found that several military departments...
State Requiring Prompt Med To Appear At Hearing About Dumped Records
As a follow-up to a breach previously reported, Kerri Hartsfield reports: The State Department of Justice is requiring an attorney for Prompt Med to appear at a hearing after hundreds of medical records were found in a dumpster and sitting alongside a street. Last month, a 2 Wants to Know investigation revealed that more than…
Construction firm sues after $588,000 online theft
Jeremy Kirk reports: A construction company in Maine is suing its bank after about $588,000 disappeared from its accounts, alleging the bank failed to spot suspicious account activity before it was too late. Over a week-long period in May, fraudsters made six transfers from the online bank accounts of Patco Construction Company, a family-owned developer…
Lawyer Faces Felony Charge for Allegedly Bribing Hospital Workers
Joel Stashenko reports: A felony charge was filed Wednesday against an attorney who is accused of bribing hospital employees for confidential medical information that he allegedly used to solicit clients in a no-fault insurance scam. New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo said the charge against William R. Hamel, an attorney at Dinkes & Schwitzer…
Bronx man allegedly steals identity to obtain health insurance
A Bronx, N.Y., man could receive up to seven years in prison after he stole a friend’s identity to obtain health insurance for treatment after a fall from a fire escape. Rasheem Tolliver, 27, was arrested after admitting to using a former acquaintance’s identity to cover injuries sustained as he tried to get into his…