Identity Theft Blog by Truston

Nikon Posts Customers Names and Credit Cards on Web

Nikon puts customer credit cards on web site. I “shutter” to think of the consquences (sorry, couldn’t resist). AP Wire reported this story.

Personal information on more than 3,200 subscribers of a magazine published by Nikon Inc. was available on a Web site before the breach was discovered, the imaging company said Thursday.

Details including names, addresses and credit card numbers for 3,235 people could be seen over a nine-hour period on a Web site for Nikon World magazine, but only nine new subscribers gained access to the information, the company said.

Laptop stolen from American Family Insurance

There was a break-in that resulted in stolen computers including a laptop. Apparently effects over 2,000 customers. Social security numbers and driver’s license numbers were involved. Read more at wfrv.com.

American Family Insurance is warning customers to be wary of identity theft after computer equipment was stolen in a burglary in Madison.

The break-in was back in July. American Family spokesman Steve Witmer says it took the company a while to determine the contents of the missing computer and assess the risk.

Of most concern is a stolen laptop. Witmer says it had customers' Social Security numbers and driver's license numbers.

Company Closing Down Throws Employee REcords in Trash

Here we have a case of reverse dumpster diving. The employees, smartly, jumped in the dumpter to pull out their sensitive HR files which had their SSNs. This is a perfect example of what I tell people every chance I get. Think about every doctor’s office, mortgage company, apartment rental company that you ever gave your social security number. Last year, five years ago, 20 years ago. Where the heck are those records? What happens when the doctor retires or company goes bankrupt? Or how about every day security. How can we posibly know if those records are kept locked and protected? We can’t.

More from TheIndyChannel.com:

Workers at a telemarketing company on Indianapolis' south side are concerned about identity theft after they said they found piles of personal information in a Dumpster. Several employees of Telesource said they climbed into the Dumpster to retrieve the documents.

40% of Health Care Insurers and Agencies Lost Data since 2004

Not sure I am surprised, but we should know how vulnerable we are—because so much of our sensitive data is spread around. ConsumerAffairs has got this story.

A report issued by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) reveals that privacy breaches have been rampant among state, national, and military health care agency contractors since 2004.

According to the GAO report, 40 percent of health insurance contractors and state Medicare/Medicaid offices experienced data breaches in the last two years.

Stolen Computer at Univ. of Minnesota Puts Thousands of Students at Risk

A story in the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

A pair of computers containing the personal information — in some cases Social Security numbers — of thousands of University of Minnesota students was stolen from a campus office. Now officials are scrambling to let past and present students know their identities may be in danger.

The computers, stolen in August from the desk of a program coordinator at the university's Institute of Technology, contained data on 13,084 students who joined the school as freshmen between the fall of 1992 and 2006.

And, incredibly, “October is cyber security month at the university.” according to a University spokesman. Hmmm. Probably a month late.

Virtual World Second Life Suffers Data Breach via Hackers

Second Life is an online 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents via the Internet. Linden Labs issued this Second Life Security Bulletin:

Linden Lab reported today that it is notifying its community of a database breach, which potentially exposed customer data including the unencrypted names and addresses, and the encrypted passwords and encrypted payment information of all Second Life users. Unencrypted credit card information, which is stored on a separate database, was not compromised.

BMO Bank of Montreal laptop stolen from branch

This laptop was stolen from from the branch itself. Let me guess, it wasn’t locked down. So a $20 lock would have prevented this. Someone in security or IT should be fired. ottawasun.com has more:

Hundreds of banking customers have been told to monitor their accounts after a laptop containing personal information was stolen from a downtown Ottawa branch.

Stolen computer contains personal data for 900 of bank's clients. A spokesman for BMO Bank of Montreal confirmed yesterday that a laptop containing clients' personal information went missing last May from its Capital Centre branch on Laurier Ave. W.

FL National Guard laptop stolen

A Florida National Guard laptop was stolen from a car. Florida Today reports:

The Florida National Guard was conducting a security review Thursday after a laptop computer assigned to one of its soldiers was stolen in a car burglary.

No classified information was on the computer stolen Tuesday from a soldier’s personal vehicle, said Florida Department of Military Affairs spokesman Jon Myatt. The laptop contains training and administrative records — including social security numbers — of up to 100 Florida National Guard soldiers.

Xanga.com Fined $1 Million for Disclosing Children's Data

The FTC accounced this today:

Social networking Web site operators Xanga.com, Inc. and its principals, Marc Ginsburg and John Hiler, will pay a $1 million civil penalty for allegedly violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and its implementing Rule, under the terms of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission announced today.

According to the FTC, Xanga.com collected, used, and disclosed personal information from children under the age of 13 without first notifying parents and obtaining their consent. The penalty is the largest ever assessed by the FTC for a COPPA violation, and is more than twice the next largest penalty.

Chase throws tapes in trash with Circuit City customer data

Associated Press via MSN:

Chase Card Services says it's notifying more than two and a-half (m) million Circuit City credit card holders that computer tapes containing their personal information were mistakenly thrown in the trash.

The company says it thinks the tapes -- which were stored in a locked box and contained some card holders' Social Security numbers -- were compacted, destroyed and buried in a dump.