We are now officially in the throes of “midsummer” on this Privacy Monday.  And, on occasion in the data privacy world, we agree with Will Shakespeare’s words….“Lord, what fools these mortals be!”

Flash Drives  ….

Butler University has warned about 160,000 students, faculty, staff, and alumni that personal information was discovered on a flash drive of an identity theft suspect arrested in California.  Exposed information includes birthdates, Social Security numbers and bank account information.

Houston to “Ground Control” – We Have a Problem

The Houston Astros have not exactly been hitting the cover off the ball this season, but the team’s proprietary database system known as “Ground Control” had been the envy of Major League Baseball.  That is, until it was hacked.  Details of trade discussions involving 22 teams during a 6-month period ending in March were leaked first to Anonbin, a data sharing website, and then most recently, to the website Deadspin.com.  Astros GM Jeff Luhnow is furious and says that the team intends to prosecute those involved.

Goodbye Hotel Hippo …

Disclosure of weak security and privacy controls can be harmful to the health of your business.   One week after an independent security consultant discovered that the Hotel Hippo site had been leaking large amounts of customer information.  The incident is being investigated by UK privacy watchdogs and the site says “website permanently closed.”