...and this is just in the past two weeks...• Eleven people from at least five different countries are facing charges for their involvement in a wide-ranging scheme to hack into nine US companies and steal and sell more than 40 million credit and debit card numbers. "As far as we know, this is the single largest and most complex identity theft case that's ever been charged in this country," Attorney General Michael Mukasey said. Officials said the ring had stolen hundreds of millions of dollars. (more) ...when federal prosecutors disclosed that computer hackers swiped more than 40 million credit-card numbers from nine retailers in the biggest such heist ever, it was the first time that many shoppers had heard about it. That's because only four of the chains clearly alerted their customers to breaches. (more)
• About 150,000 people in the US have been affected by the theft of laptops with personal information about current and former employees of brewing giant Anheuser-Busch. (more)
• A new report from the California Department of Public Health discovered that 127 UCLA Medical Center employees viewed celebrities' medical records without permission between January 2004 and June 2006, which is nearly double the number first reported earlier this year. (more)
• UK - Data protection experts have called for hospitals to use more effective encryption techniques after a laptop containing the personal data of thousands of patients was stolen. An unnamed manager at Colchester Hospital in Essex has been sacked as a result of the theft... (more)
• Security researcher Joe Stewart has identified a Russian gang that infected 378,000 computers with malware over a 16-month period in an effort to steal passwords and other information. (more)
• Ireland - The loss of a laptop containing 380,000 records of social welfare and pension recipients is a wake-up call for the Government and public and private sector bodies to ensure all staff are trained properly in data protection and use of encryption. (more)
• The Transportation Security Administration suspended Verified Identity Pass from enrolling travelers in its pre-screening program after a laptop computer containing the records of 33,000 people went missing.
The company, based in New York, lost possession of the laptop at San Francisco International Airport. The laptop contained unencrypted pre-enrollment records of individuals... (more) UPDATES: ...unencrypted laptop was found in the same office from which it was reported missing. (more) The U.S. Transportation Security Administration has cleared Verified Identity Pass to resume enrollments in its Registered Traveler program... (more) The laptop had been stolen, but was returned, according to the Sheriff's Department.
• The University of Michigan Credit Union in Ann Arbor confirmed that a data theft has resulted in some of its members becoming identity theft victims. The credit union said that so far, "less than 100" people have had their identities stolen -- mostly to open fraudulent credit card accounts. The theft, involving documents that were supposed to have been shredded... (more)
• Greece - Hundreds of bank clients in Greece and other European countries have turned into hostages because of actions of groups that steal data from bankcards and do uncontrolled drawings, the Greek To Bhma daily reports. (more)
UK - The BBC has apologised after a memory stick containing details of hundreds of children who applied to take part in a TV show was stolen. (more)
• Wells Fargo & Co. is notifying some 5,000 people that their personal information might have been seen by someone using a bank access code illegally. (more)
Only an average of eight percent of Americans say they are very confident in the ability of U.S. retailers, government and banks to protect their personal information, according to a national survey commissioned by CA, Inc. (more)
