A leak from the Hawaii health department puts 11,500 families on the island under threat of identity theft. At the same time, the personal data and income information of more than 5,000 students at Vanguard University has been stolen. In both cases, the victims are recipients of welfare support. InfoWatch experts consider that an insider is no respecter of persons – and people with any sort of income can equally easily fall victim to an attack. In these cases, the stolen information was badly protected.
The private details of 11,500 families have been stolen from the database of the Hawaii health department. All the families were in receipt of government welfare support for low-income mothers with children. At the present time, the police are conducting an investigation into the incident. It has already been established that the theft was the work of an insider, however the identity of the thief and the date of the theft are yet to be made known. Local officials are at a loss, saying that this is the first case of insider activity at a state organization that they can remember. In the near future, it is expected that there will be a review of existing procedures and information protection methods.
Meanwhile, on mainland America, a computer was stolen from an financial aid office in Costa Mesa, California. The PC’s hard drive contained personal data (including Social Security numbers) and income information on over 5,000 students and graduates from Vanguard University, as well as their parents. The victims were in receipt of grants on the program which assists low-income families. The computer was found to be missing after the Martin Luther King Day holiday on January 16th. There was no sign of forced entry, so suspicion has fallen on people with access. The police are looking at the details of the case and the university administration has already notified all those affected and opened a hotline via which people can get updates and advice. In particular, all victims are strongly advised to contact their credit office and get itemized reports on their account activity.
Denis Zenkin, InfoWatch’s Marketing Manager said, “In reality, insiders are not fussy. They will steal anyone’s data if they think they can make money on it, and the income of their victims is irrelevant. In both these cases, the information just begged to be taken.”
