UK COMPUTER SECURITY http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23963531-hospital-patients-details-lost-or-stolen-1000-times-in-three-years.do

Hospital patients' details lost or stolen 1,000 times in three years

Sophie Goodchild, Health and Social Affairs Correspondent
23 Jun 2011 

London hospitals were responsible for nearly 1,000 cases involving the theft or loss of confidential patient details over the past three years, figures show today.

They include medical notes left in a bin near a busy ward, the theft of a doctor's laptop containing patient names and addresses and the loss of a memory stick.

Barnet has the worst record with nearly 187 breaches from 2008 to last year. Chelsea and Westminster foundation trust, Camden and Islington, and Barking, Havering and Redbridge also had a high number of incidents.

It comes days after it was revealed that the Met is investigating the theft of a laptop containing the records of more than eight million patients.

Scotland Yard was alerted after more than 20 computers went missing from North Central London Strategic Health Authority three weeks ago. The NHS is already under attack for its poor record on protecting personal information of patients including names, addresses and medical records.

Last year, the Information Commissioner's Office revealed the NHS was ranked worst than the private sector and local government for data losses.

The ICO has the power to issue fines of up to £500,000 for breaches of the Data Protection Act.
Under official guidelines, trusts must declare any serious patient data or breach of confidentiality in their annual report but they do not have to disclose low level breaches.

Figures obtained by Guardian Healthcare from 30 trusts reveal there was a total of 909 incidents between 2008 and 2011. The majority were low level but the number of breaches has increased at some trusts including South London Healthcare trust andUniversity College London hospital.

This raises concerns that not enough is being done to ensure that sensitive information held on computers and memory sticks or recorded on paper is protected.

Serious breaches included the theft of a doctor's personal unencrypted laptop which contained patient information. This occurred at Barking Havering and Redbridge hospitals trust which said the laptop was password protected.

Cases at NHS Barnet included a bag containing patient notes being left in a public area as well as a "loss of records". NHS Barnet said it had reviewed its procedures including those around information governance and security. It also said that the bag containing patient notes was recovered by a member of staff.

David Smith, deputy commissioner and director of data protection at the ICO said: "The NHS holds sensitive personal data for just about every person living in the UK - that's over 60 million individual patient medical records." He said many breaches were preventable with better training.

A spokesman for Chelsea and Westminster hospital said: "We have a very low threshold for reporting data security incidents - including 'near misses' - and during this reporting period we had no serious data breaches that would have required reporting to the Information Commissioner's Office.

"We actively encourage our staff to report data breaches because being open, honest and transparent is the best way for us to learn for the future.

"Different NHS trusts appear to classify data breaches in different ways which explains 

UK COMPUTERS STOLEN http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2011/06/24/laptops-containing-personal-information-stolen-from-council-building-in-kirkby-100252-28933144/

Laptops containing personal information stolen from council building in Kirkby

• by John Siddle, Liverpool Echo
• Jun 24 2011

LAPTOPS believed to contain taxi drivers’ personal details were stolen from a Merseyside council building.

Twenty-one computers, together worth thousands of pounds, are believed to have also contained the names, addresses, dates of birth and national insurance numbers of cab drivers.

Details of environmental health inspections were also stored on the Knowsley council systems, a town hall worker claimed.

Burglars escaped with the haul after breaking into Kirkby municipal buildings, in Cherryfield Drive, in the early hours of Thursday June 16.

Council chiefs confirmed the theft of 20 Toshiba laptops, one Thinkpad computer and a Nokia mobile phone and said they had launched their own inquiry.

A spokesman said: “A number of laptops were stolen during a break-in at council premises.

“We have extremely robust IT security procedures in place and the information stored on these devices was securely encrypted and cannot be accessed by unauthorised users.”

The anonymous worker also said many of the laptops belonged to trading standards staff and contained private information about Knowsley businesses.

The worker said: “A lot of the documents will be protected and they might not be that easy to access, but the data on them is extremely confidential.

“There is information about Knowsley taxi drivers on them, including any criminal history.”

Merseyside police today appealed for witnesses.

PC Anthony Fairhurst said: “We are appealing to anyone who may have seen anyone acting suspiciously in the area around this time to come forward as they may have important information.”

Call police on 0151-777 6520 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

Read More http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2011/06/24/laptops-containing-personal-information-stolen-from-council-building-in-kirkby-100252-28933144/#ixzz1QCtaUQyg

INDIA COMPUTER STOLEN http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/MCG-in-tizzy-over-computer-theft/articleshow/8971658.cms

MCG in tizzy over

computer theft

Sanjay Yadav, TNN | Jun 24, 2011, 07.25am IST


GURGAON: On Tuesday night, thieves struck at the Gurgaon municipal commissioner's office in Civil Lines, the very day the civic body got an elected mayor and his two deputies. 

They stole items worth Rs 4 lakh that included a computer, an inverter, bags and other valuables from the MCG office. 

The police said that the complaint has been lodged by an engineer, Dharmveer Malik, who is posted at the MCG office. Investigators said that the thieves took out the cooler that was installed in the engineer's room in the office complex to get an entry.

"We have registered a case of theft against unknown people based on the complaint. We have put a special team on this job and are hopeful of cracking the case soon," said Narendra Sangwan, SHO of Civil Lines police station. 

The daring robbery has come as a surprise to the MCG officials since the office building is located in an area where top cops, deputy commissioner and municipal commissione of the city live. 

Cops are also investigating whether the computer stolen had important data stored, though they are ruling out any foul play.

CALIFORNIA (UPDATE) COMPUTERS STOLEN http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_18341142

Print   Email    Font Resize Long Beach medical office records stolen HealthCare Partners reported the burglary in April By Brenda Gazzar and Tracy Manzer, Staff Writers Posted: 06/23/2011 05:14:26 PM PDT More than 15,700 patients in Long Beach and Pasadena may have had their medical records compromised after 19 computers were stolen from a Torrance-based health-care provider. HealthCare Partners sent out letters to those clients notifying them of two separate burglaries in April, including 11 machines stolen from one of its Pasadena offices and eight from its Long Beach office. Along with patients' medical records, private information was stored on the stolen computers, including birth dates, addresses and other information, said Leo Dittemore, director of information services for HealthCare Partner's security department. "The biggest fear is an identity theft problem, that someone could, if they got into the systems, use that information to create credit accounts," Dittemore said. The company contacted Long Beach Police on April 18 regarding the burglary at its office at 2600 Redondo Ave., said Nancy Pratt, a Long Beach Police Department spokeswoman. Staff at the office told investigators that everything was fine when they locked up the location the previous Friday, which was April 15. When they arrived that Monday morning, they found that someone had forced entry into the office, Pratt said. In addition to the eight computers that were stolen, the burglars took cash, checks and credit cards from the location, she said. Due to the similarities in the break-ins at the Pasadena office and the Long Advertisement Beach location, Long Beach Police Department detectives believe the crimes are related and the investigation is on-going, Pratt said. Local police urged anyone notified that their information might have been comprised from the break-in to check their credit card statements and credit reports. Dittemore said the thieves could use the information to raid patients' bank accounts, or to launch other forms of fraud, he said. "They could send them an email notice or letter making it look like it's from HealthCare Partners, asking them to provide more personal information, and do something inappropriate with that," Dittemore said. So far, no HealthCare Partners clients have reported any instances of fraud linked to the computer thefts, he added. He estimated the burglaries cost the company $10,000. In addition, a safe containing 16 checks from patients was stolen from the Long Beach office, along with some credit card receipts. The receipts, however, did not contain full credit card numbers, the company said. Meanwhile, HealthCare Partners has offered clients an identity protection service provided by an outside vendor for one year, at no cost. It includes $1 million in identity theft insurance coverage, and fraud resolution services. The vendor also will monitor clients' credit and provide credit alerts by telephone. HealthCare Partners clients with concerns can call a hot line, 877-427-9288. Anyone with information about the crimes was asked to call LBPD Burglary Detectives at 562-570-5559. tracy.manzer@presstelegram.com, 562-499-1261

TEXAS COMPUTER THEFT ATTEMPT http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/local/110623-school-computer-theft-suspect


SEE VIDEO.........

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School Computer Theft Suspect Detained

Updated: Thursday, 23 Jun 2011, 12:57 PM CDT
Published : Thursday, 23 Jun 2011, 8:20 AM CDT

• 
  ALEXANDER SUPGUL
  Web Producer

HOUSTON - A spokesman for the Houston Independent School District says surveillance video captured images of a suspect as he tried to steal laptops from an office at Sharpstown High School.

An alarm sounded at the high school campus before 3:30 a.m. Thursday and a dispatcher was able to see the 19-year-old suspect on one of the surveillance cameras before contacting HISD police.

Officers were able to quickly find the suspect on the first floor of the school building and he surrendered to police.

The suspect was taken to jail and is expected to be charged with burglary.

Read more: http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/local/110623-school-computer-theft-suspect#ixzz1QCpKrF6e

ILLINOIS COMPUTERS STOLEN http://norridge.suntimes.com/6090606-417/districts-64-207-not-affected-by-computer-theft-officials.html

Districts 64, 207 not affected by computer theft: officials

By JENNIFER JOHNSON jjohnson@pioneerlocal.com June 21, 2011 4:22PM

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Updated: June 23, 2011 3:37AM

Personal information of Park Ridge elementary-school students and faculty members is not believed to be stored on computers recently reported stolen from employees working for the Illinois State Board of Education.

“It does not appear that this affected us,” said Park Ridge-Niles School District 64 spokeswoman Bernadette Tramm.

Dave Beery, spokesman for Maine Township High School District 207, said he did not believe information about District 207 students and staff was included on the stolen laptops, but at the time was awaiting confirmation from the district’s director of special education.

Last week hundreds of Illinois parents reportedly received letters from the Harrisburg Project, a data-storage subcontractor working with the Illinois State Board of Education. The letters stated that two laptops had been stolen from Harrisburg employees.

The Harrisburg Project is contracted by the state to store the personal information of special-education students and instructors for reimbursement.

On June 16, ISBE spokesman Matt Vanover confirmed that two computers were missing. Vanover said records for 7,841 students and 2,613 staff from 42 districts in northern Illinois were on the computers. Social Security numbers were part of that information, he said.

— Sun-Times Media
contributed

KENTUCKY COMPUTERS STOLEN http://www.westkentuckystar.com/News/Local---Regional/Western-Kentucky/-30-000-Worth-of-Computers-Stolen-from-School

$30,000 Worth of Computers Stolen from SchoolBy Joe Jackson
MAYFIELD, KY - The Graves County Sheriff's Office is investigating the theft of $30,000 worth of computers from Graves County Middle School. Graves County Sheriff Dewayne Redmon said the theft took place late Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning.

Redmon said approximately 35 desktop computers were stolen in all. He said the thieves completely cleaned out one of the school's computer labs and also stole computers from three offices.

Redmon said there was no sign of forced entry. Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff's office at 247-4501 or Crime Stoppers at 247-5000.

---

Published 04:28 PM, Wednesday Jun. 22, 2011
Updated 01:59 PM, Thursday Jun. 23, 2011

PENNSYLVANIA COMPUTERS STOLEN http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/flexicontent/item/22051-39th-district-restraining-order-doesnt-deter-offender-with-gun-/

39th District: Restraining order doesn’t deter offender with gun, threatens children

June 24, 2011

By Aaron Moselle

    

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Crime Blotter June 3 – 9

FEATURED:

June 4: 200 block Zeralda St. – complainant said a woman she has a restraining order against has been sitting in a car in front of her house.  She said she continually drove past her home June 4. Offender was gone when police arrived, but returned shortly afterwards and threatened the complainant and her children with a gun. Police later arrested the offender.

***********

June 3, 2011

5300 block Pulaski Ave. – complainant said her ex-boyfriend pulled up in a 1996 Chevy Lumina, pointed a gun at her and yelled out an unknown statement. The offender then drove off. Police later stopped the car and made an arrest.

5200 block Greene St. – computer and clothing stolen from the property between 12:30-1:30 p.m. April 16.

3300 block Cresson St. – complainant said he was trying to call a cab when three men approached him and offered to help. The complainant handed his cell phone to one of the offenders, who placed the item in his pocket and walked away. There were no weapons or force used during the incident.

5400 block Wissahickon Ave. – iPod, wallet, SS card, Alpine subwoofers and an amplifier stolen from two cars between 1 a.m. June 2 and 12 p.m. June 3. Those cars were a 2002 Pontiac Bonneville and a 2003 Chevy Impala.

5200 block Marion St. – complainant said an offender hit her in the head with a 40-ounce bottle of alcohol. Complainant was then taken to the hospital for a cut to the left temple of her head.

3700 block N. Broad St. – complainant said someone stole her wallet from a counter at the location. She said she placed the item there around 1:30 p.m. June 3 and left for 10 minutes. When she returned, the wallet was gone. The item contained various IDs, credit cards and $700.

4000 block Germantown Ave. – 1997 Nissan Accord stolen between 7 p.m. June 1 and 2 a.m. June 2.

3200 block N. 16^th St. – GPS stolen from a 2011 Mitsubishi Lancer between 12-4 p.m. June 3.

June 4, 2011

5400 block Wissahickon Ave. – 1995 Buick Century stolen, but recovered prior to police report. The car was initially taken between 9:45 p.m. June 1 and 5:45 p.m. June 2.

3600 block Calumet St. – complainant said a group of males followed him and a friend. He said one of them threw a bottle that broke at his feet and then struck the complainant twice in the face. Offender then fled the scene. Complainant was taken to the hospital.

200 block Zeralda St. – complainant said a woman she has a restraining order against has been sitting in a car in front of her house.  She said she continually drove past her home June 4. Offender was gone when police arrived, but returned shortly afterwards and threatened the complainant and her children with a gun. Police later arrested the offender.

June 5, 2011

3500 block N. 17^th St. – black purse containing a wallet with various IDs, credit cards, sunglasses and reading glasses was stolen from a 1999 Chevy Suburban.

June 6, 2011

3200 block McMichael St. – Dell computer stolen from the property between 4 p.m. June 3 and 8 a.m. June 6.

400 block Hansberry St. – bike stolen from the property’s porch between 11 a.m. March 31 and 12 p.m. June 6. Complainant said the item was not secured at the time.

3000 block Queen Lane – 42” LCD TV stolen from the property between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. June 6.

4300 block Germantown Ave. – copper pipes stolen from a construction site between 3:30 p.m. June 4 and 6 a.m. June 6. Complainant said the site is fenced in and there was no damage done.

3400 block N. Sydenham St. – stereo, CD player, GPS, Mp3 player stolen from a 2002 Mitsubishi Galant between 7:45-10:40 a.m. June 6.

4300 block Wissahickon Ave. – hammer drill, Milwaukee band saw with two battery chargers and a saw ball with two battery chargers stolen from the property. Complainant said the items were stolen between 9:30 p.m. May 30 and 3:30 a.m. May 31.

2400 block W. Clearfield St. – six boxes of Tylenol, six dozen t-shirts, 36 cartons of cigarettes and more stolen from the property between 8:19 p.m. June 5 and 7:30 a.m. June 6.

2600 block W. Allegheny Ave. – complainant said a man hit him in the back of the head with an unknown object. Complainant said he then fell to the ground and split his lip. Complainant was taken to the hospital where he received stitches.

3100 block N. 16^th St. – complainant said two men assaulted him and then pointed a handgun at him. Complainant said his nose was fractured in the incident.

June 7, 2011

300 block W. Queen Lane – three HP computer towers and eight HP monitors stolen from the property between 6 p.m. May 31 and 10:48 a.m. June 7.

1800 block W. Venango St. – wedding ring and a Smith & Wesson gun stolen from the property between 9:30 a.m. and 1:44 p.m. June 7.

1400 block W Venango St. – battery, air scrubbers, generator, scanner, GPS and cell phone stolen from a car between 11 p.m. June 2 and 2:30 a.m. June 3.

2400 block W. Allegheny Ave. – 2011 Lincoln MKS stolen, but recovered prior to police report. Police stopped the rented vehicle and the offender attempted to flee. The offender was arrested.

June 8, 2011

5400 block Wissahickon Ave. – Alpine speakers and amplifier stolen from a 2003 Chevy Impala between 11:30 p.m. June 2 and 12 p.m. June 3.

400 block W. School House Lane – Gucci wallet containing two Visa cards, a men’s billfold, a driver’s license and an iPod were stolen from a 2002 Toyota Corolla.

June 9, 2011

3700 block N. 15^th St. – complainant said that a known offender struck her in the face with her walking crutch. Police found the crutch and the offender at the location when they arrived. The man was arrested. Complainant was taken to the hospital.

4200 block Germantown Ave. – Apple desktop computer, Apple laptop, 50” Samsung flat screen TV and a Nintendo DS game stolen from the property between 1:30-6:30 a.m. June 9.

2800 block N. Bonsall St.  – HP computer monitor, saw, table saw, stilts and a screw gun stolen from the property. Complainant said an acquaintance took the items and now refuses to give them back.

2500 block W. Lehigh Ave. – complainant said a man started fighting him, then picked up a broken bottle and cut him on his right forearm. Offender was arrested.