Information security, recycling and irony

[jkinz at kinz.org (Jeff Kinz)]

I just experienced an interesting incident involving information
security practices.

At a client's organization I recently, and very gently, urged a DBA to
stop their practice of recycling the printouts from test runs of certain
reports.

These test runs were huge so it's understandable that they didn't want to
just throw away all the paper.  But these reports contained ALL the
confidential information about their clients. 

Everything: Family info, age, birth date, addresses, SSN, phone #'s, 
emails, all contact phone #s and more.

Their response was simply that the recycled paper was only being used
internally so they were not risking their client's privacy.

On Sunday, the Boston Globe, indulging in the same practice, released
the private customer information, including credit card information, of
240,000 of their customers by using recycled internal reports for 
wrapping paper (topper) on delivered bundles of newspaper.

Apparently I was right about this being a risky practice: :-)

Irony==> My info was among that released.  

I have closed the account, had a new card issued, notified several
auto-pay relationships and made a trip to the bank to get cash for my
wife to use on a trip this coming weekend.  Final step is to put a 
fraud alert on my record with all three major credit reporting
agencies.

(yes, we do have other cards we can use but our money plan calls for
those accounts to be used only in case of real emergencies, and by
definition if something can be avoided, its not an emergency.. :) )

If you are concerned that your info may have been released as well 
you can check by going here:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/cclookup

On that page you enter your phone # and zip, and the system will tell
you if your info was released.

That page appears to be the only thing the Globe has done right.


<insert muttered imprecations at the Globe of your choice here>


The Lesson:

Its clear that one never "really" knows how recycled materials are going
to be used so confidential materials must always be destroyed rather
than recycled. (duh)


-- 
Jeff Kinz, Emergent Research, Hudson, MA.
speech recognition software may have been used to create this e-mail

"The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men
of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding." - Brandeis

To think contrary to one's era is heroism. But to speak against it is
madness. -- Eugene Ionesco