Denmark: Storage media with 9500 private records accidentally exposed

Mistakes happen everywhere. Some lead to lots and lots of private data being exposed. This is the case of Danish group ISS whose representatives accidentally mail a storage device containing 9500 employee records instead of holiday cards. The bad news is that the information exposed included names, addresses and social security numbers. The good news is at least it wasn’t their whole employee database, about 2000 managed not to be exposed to the risk of identity theft and fraud!

The company has announced those affected by this new breach but it’s not giving too many details, as there’s an ongoing investigation. Read more on the incident here.

As far as we’re concerned, the conclusion is very simple. Be careful where you store private details of your employees! Try to do it on a safe computer network. And if you need to save all that info on a storage device, make sure it’s encrypted, because such little gadgets are misplaced all the time!

Stolen laptop puts 12,500 patients’ data at risk

Shands HealthCare has recently announced about 12,500 of their patients that their private medical data has been stolen in January, along with the laptop that contained the personal details. As it almost always happens in the case of hardware storing sensitive records, the laptop wasn’t encrypted in any way.

The stolen info contains names, addresses, medical record numbers and medical procedure codes of the patients, as well as the Social Security numbers of about 650 people. Luckily, up to know, there is no evidence of any misuse of the data, and we should keep hoping that the thief or thieves just needed the notebook to sell it or for personal use…

At least some measures have been taken: training for the employees and system-wide encryption policy to prevent such data breaches in the future. And of course, there’s protection for those affected, eligible for 12 months of free credit monitoring.

Let’s hope the new system works, as according to Gainesville.com, security breaches involving large amounts of patient data being exposed are some what of a recurring habit at Shands.

FTC issues warning about data loss over P2P

Yet another warning about data loss, company policy and how easily all your files can be liked over the internet comes into the security world, this time from the Federal Trade Commission. Long overdue some would say, including Robert Siciliano in a recent post on Information Security Resources.

Yes, it is quite bewildering to see how after warning after warning and a long line of data breach incidents, companies still allow the misuse of software and hardware resources. It is also confusing to see the FTC now getting ready to directly warn about 100 companies about the risks of peer-to-peer. It’s a bit late, years and years after the problems appeared. Read more

US thumb drives finally allowed on Pentagon premises

We’ve previously explained how banning something altogether instead of ensuring a safe way to use that piece of technology is not really the smartest idea out there. And our theory seems to be confirmed by the Pentagon: they have recently replaced their strict ban against USB flash drives with a strict usage policy referring to both types of devices used and how they are employed.

The reasons to ban them were serious, as past incidents of misuse led to virus infections, as the Daily Tech reminds us, and the prohibition also covered almost anything you can connect through an USB port to their network, from such as cameras or portable hard drives or smart phones. Yet standing against some of the most common ways to transfer data couldn’t last for too long. The Pentagon is now ready to allow them back into their daily routine, but only if it’s their specific devices which come with their very own hardware and software malware removal kits.

The drives they are planning to allow are headed to Afganistan where they will be used in combat command centers and analysis centers. Let’s hope these ones won’t end up being sold in Afgani markets! Or end up in some library… Maybe they won’t, as these are the rules: Read more

Who’s afraid of the big bad cyberattack?

There have been dozens of news on cyberattacks lately. From human rights websites from China being under attack, to the attacks on US sites and institutions, to a more recent article debating how a cyberattack will affect the UK public’s trust in their Goverment. (Check our Twitter profile for an extended list of such news).

A minor effect attack would make UK citizens not trust their representatives. It seems crazy and it tastes of instant panic, but is it? I’d say more cyberattacks would have the same effect on US citizens as well. Why? It’s simple! It’s not because people are scary and tend to run amok at the smallest of threats, it’s because of the created expectations that were never met. Read more