The two main purposes of gathering all this data are to: 1) spill it to criminals and 2) protect our citizens from Osama bin Lauden

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20071217131552369

UK: Millions of L-driver details lost

Monday, December 17 2007 @ 01:15 PM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews News Section: Breaches

Updated to replace url

The Government has lost the records of more than three million learner drivers from a "secure facility" in Iowa.

Transport Secretary Ruth Kelly told the Commons that the latest security breach did not include personal data such as credit card or bank details.

... Ms Kelly was then forced to concede to MPs: "In May this year, Pearson Driving Assessments Ltd, a private contractor to the Driving Standards Agency, informed the agency that a hard disk drive had gone missing from its secure facility in Iowa City, Iowa. The hard disk drive contained the records of just over three million candidates for the driving theory test."

The records contained the L-driver's name, postal address, phone number, the test fee paid, their test centre, a code indicating how the test was paid for and an e-mail address.

Source - Guardian

Purpose number one...

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20071217072227340

UK: Details of 160,000 children lost in London

Monday, December 17 2007 @ 07:22 AM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews News Section: Breaches

All deliveries of patient information in London have been halted, and the chief executive of NHS London has begun a review of data transfer arrangements after a CD containing details of 160,000 children was lost.

The encrypted CD containing names addresses and dates of birth was lost in transit from BT to St Leonard’s Hospital, Hackney in an incident that occurred on 14 November.

However, fears the CD could contain enough information to enable ID theft, or place children at risk, have been allayed thanks to BT and the NHS trust concerned – City and Hackney PCT - following NHS data protection procedures.

Source - E-Health Insider
Related - Daily Mail

This is novel. I doubt anyone could be convicted if “willful” is the criteria – just send your boss an e-mail once a year saying “we gotta do more!”

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20071217170343355

UK: Civil servants face prison for leaving the public open to identity theft

Monday, December 17 2007 @ 05:03 PM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews News Section: Breaches

Civil servants face being jailed for gross failures to safeguard personal information under a clampdown in response to the loss of discs with child benefit records of 25 million people.

Ministers have accepted proposals to create new criminal penalties to cover the most serious breaches of data protection law after current powers were criticised as being too weak.

Government sources told The Times that the offence of wilfully abusing data could carry a maximum term of two years’ imprisonment rather than a fine under plans being considered.

Source - TimesOnline

Ohio does it again. It's almost as if someone was conspiring to make them look bad.

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=2007121706574390

OH: Glitch reveals sealed adoption records

Monday, December 17 2007 @ 06:57 AM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews News Section: Breaches

A glitch in Ohio’s troubled child-welfare system is revealing information from sealed adoption records, a data breach some child advocates say is a massive violation of confidentiality. The data breach involves children who were adopted out of the foster-care system and now are enrolled in a children’s health insurance program in 35 Ohio counties, said Dennis Evans, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

.... In some cases, when medical personnel use the number on the Medicaid cards to look up health records, the system emits sealed data such as a birth mother’s name.

Source - Ohio.com

Your government loves you...

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20071217074525542

How Easy is it to Get Tax Information from the IRS? Very.

Monday, December 17 2007 @ 07:45 AM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews News Section: Breaches

.... I decided to do a little investigation and see just how easy it would be to call and get someone at the IRS to fax me my life. What I found out shocked me and it should shock you, as well.

..... Before calling, I had setup a free eFax number using the K7 Service that ICWT wrote about recently and provided that number to the representative. A few minutes later, I had in my hand completely uncensored transcripts for the 2005 and 2006 tax years which disclosed - among other things - my employer, where I went to school and who was paying me as an independent contractor as well as how much each was paying me. It also disclosed the fact that I got unemployment compensation in Ohio and how much I got. The file contains extensive personal information on me, so it has been heavily redacted so that my own identity doesn’t wind up being converted for someone else’s use.

... To get the info, all you need is a name, social security number, date of birth and mailing address. Oh yes, they do ask you if you are the named taxpayer. You have to say yes. Tough security, huh?

Source - ICWT: In Corruption We Trust (blog)

...because...

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20071217065354863

Data “Dysprotection:” breaches reported last week

Monday, December 17 2007 @ 06:53 AM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews News Section: Breaches

A recap of incidents or privacy breaches reported last week for those who enjoy shaking their head and muttering to themselves with their morning coffee.

Source - Chronicles of Dissent

Where there's a will there a way.

http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/12/17/1754257&from=rss

New Vista Random Numbers to Include NSA Backdoor?

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Monday December 17, @04:15PM from the advice-is-to-never-enable-it.-Ever. dept.

Schneier is reporting that Microsoft has added the new Dual_EC-DRBG random-number generator to Vista SP1. This random-number generator is the same one discussed earlier that may have a secret NSA backdoor built into it.

Since government is finding ways around the Tabor amendment, we will start sinking in the rankings...

http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/016835.html

December 17, 2007

Economic Ranking of All 50 States Released

"This new publication by the American Legislative Exchange Council, Rich States/Poor States: ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index, by Arthur B. Laffer and Stephen Moore, is an invaluable resource for state lawmakers and citizens to evaluate their state’s fiscal and economic policies, while analyzing their results and ramifications."

• Executive Summary

• Full report (114 pages, PDF)

Interesting. We pass illegal laws and then pay to keep them.

http://www.siliconvalley.com/news/ci_7743402?nclick_check=1

U.S., EU agree on compensation over online gambling ban

Associated Press Article Launched: 12/17/2007 09:09:21 AM PST

GENEVA - The United States will provide the European Union with new trade concessions in mail services and warehousing as part of a compensation deal over Washington's refusal to lift restrictions on Internet gambling, the European Union said Monday.