Our experienced team views data breach response as a joint effort in partnership with the client where the client’s philosophy, brand and customer base are considered integral in reconciling compliance with the numerous, and often competing, laws and regulations. [...]
SCHNUCKS IS THE LATEST SUPER MARKET CHAIN TO SUFFER AN EXTENSIVE DATA BREACH
Last month Schnucks supermarket chain announced that it had been the victim of a hacking and was investigating a data breach that lead to customer credit and debit cards being fraudulently charged with purchases. At the time, Schnucks did not indicate the severity of the data breach. Schnucks has now announced that approximately 2.4 … Continue reading
OFFICE OF CIVIL RIGHTS RINGS IN NEW YEAR WITH SIGNIFICANT HIPAA DATA BREACH SETTLEMENT
The HHS’ Office of Civil Rights (OCR) announced today that The Hospice of North Idaho has agreed to pay a $50,000 settlement for violations of the HIPAA Security Rule. OCR made a point of announcing that the settlement is the first one that involves a breach of unprotected PHI affecting fewer than 500 individuals. In … Continue reading
NATIONWIDE INSURANCE LATEST VICTIM OF A DATA BREACH
Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company announced that part of its computer network has been hacked and that personal information effecting more than 1.1 million individuals has been stolen. The data breach occurred on October 3rd. The network that was breached is also used by Allied Insurance. Nationwide has determined that the compromised information includes names, birth … Continue reading
TD BANK ANNOUNCES DATA BREACH
TD Bank recently began notifying approximately 260,000 customers in numerous states from Maine to Florida that their personal information had been lost. A TD Bank spokesman confirmed to the Associated Press that unencrypted back-up data tapes were misplaced in transport earlier this year. The tapes contained personal information that included account information and social security … Continue reading
MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENTS BECOME VICTIMS OF AN ON LINE DATA BREACH
The Social Security numbers of 31 Army Medal of Honor recipients were accidentally posted on line by a Pentagon employee. The Los Angeles Times reported last week that the personal information was removed from the internet after the breach was discovered by a well known military historian. The Social Security numbers appear to have … Continue reading
STOLEN LAPTOP LEADS TO HEALTHCARE DATA BREACH INVOLVING 55,000 INDIVIDUALS IN INDIANA
Cancer Care Group (CCG), an Indiana oncology practice, has announced a data breach that affected approximately 55,000 individuals, including patients and employees. CCG has approximately 21 locations within Indiana. CCG reported that a laptop computer bag was stolen from an employee’s locked vehicle on July 19th. The data allegedly stored on the laptop computer … Continue reading
NEW CONNECTICUT DATA BREACH IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF DATA SECURITY FAILURES
The Connecticut Attorney General just announced that personal health information and protected health information for over 9,000 Hartford Hospital patients was lost in June. http://www.ct.gov/ag/cwp/view.asp?Q=508726&A=2341. A laptop carried by an EMC subsidiary employee was reportedly stolen. The State AG announced that the unencrypted information on the laptop contained names, addresses, dates of birth, social security … Continue reading
Vermont Adds New Wrinkles to Data Breach Notification Law
Vermont has made some interesting amendments [.pdf at Sec. 4, p. 9] to its Security Breach Notice Act. The changes, trumpeted in a recent press release as part of various consumer protection measures, were signed into law on May 8, 2012 to be effective immediately. The most significant aspects of the revisions are: Consumer notification of a breach must be … Continue reading
Cyber Warfare and Collateral Damage: “Flame” Malware Heats Up Data Security Threat
Cyber Security experts have discovered new malware that is unique in its sophistication and frightening in its capabilities. The malware, known as “Flame”, was found during an investigation by Russia-based Kaspersky Lab, and may have been running undetected for more than two years. Flame has set off alarm bells due to its complexity and because it appears to be part of … Continue reading
CREDIT CARD DATA SECURITY ISSUES RAISED ABOUT ROMNEY SUPER PAC IN WASHINGTON TIMES ARTICLE
This morning a Washington Times newspaper article raised potential data security issues with the online credit card system used by Restore Our Future, a Mitt Romney Super PAC. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/may/3/romney-super-pac-donors-put-at-credit-card-risk/. The article detailed how the super PAC’s computer system appears to lack fundamental security methods for protecting its donor’s personal information. The PAC is raising money … Continue reading