One U.S. state body sends out 64,000 letters containing private data to the wrong addresses, another 7 million people fill in online registration forms with their personal details in order to win non-existent iPods and video-game consoles: According to experts at InfoWatch, naivety and negligence are the two components of the notorious “human factor" that can never be cured.
As the Charlotte Observer reports, last week there were two serious leaks of confidential data that can be put down to negligence and a disorderly work system, as well as naivety on the part of the general public.
First of all the California Employment Development Division accidentally sent out about 64,000 tax forms containing social security numbers and income information to the wrong addresses, potentially exposing those taxpayers to identity theft.
Secondly, the company Gratis Internet, according to state prosecutors, sold as many as 7 million "user records". Consumers thought they were simply registering to see a Web site offering free iPod music players or video-game consoles. On sign-up pages, Gratis promised it "does not ... sell/rent e-mails." Instead, Gratis allegedly sold access to their e-mail information to a minimum of three independent e-mail marketers, creating the largest deliberate breach of a privacy policy discovered by U.S. law enforcers. Gratis denied the charges.
“No one is safe from incidents like mail being sent to the wrong address. However, companies ought to be much more careful when posting private letters. The chances of a mistake or negligence causing such incidents can be eliminated with the help of special solutions," says Denis Zenkin, marketing director at InfoWatch.
"As for those people who genuinely believed that someone would give them a free iPod and a games console, well it can only be hoped that they will be more careful in future."
Source: Charlotte Observer
