The U.S. Postal Service is the latest victim in a busy year of data breaches. Data from 750,000 employees and retirees, as well as information from 2.9 million postal service customers, has been affected.
Community Health Systems, which operates 206 hospitals around the U.S., announced today that in a recent data breach hackers stole data on 4.5 million patients, including names, Social Security numbers, addresses, birthdays and telephone numbers. The hackers did not steal information about patients’ medical histories, clinical operations or credit cards.
P.F. Chang’s China Bistro has confirmed Friday morning that there has been a data breach involving customers’ credit and debit cards used at its restaurants. After learning of the breach Tuesday, the company began an investigation with the U.S. Secret Service and a team of third-party forensics experts “to understand the nature and scope of the incident, and while the investigation is still ongoing, we have concluded that data has been compromised,” according to a statement from P.F. Chang’s CEO Rick Federico.
Following a massive cyberattack, eBay is reportedly facing a formal investigation with the government over security practices. The online auction site will have to answer questions about what type of security was in place before hackers gained access to the personal data of its 145 million users.
Headlines continue to highlight data breaches, especially those compromising payment, banking and personal data.
May 1, 2014
The silver lining to the breaches, according to the ACI report, is that although data breach-related fraud has had a negative impact on banks’ and financial institutions’ bottom lines, more than 40 percent of respondents indicated that their customers have appreciated the proactive outreach and response to market events, which helps to keep financial institutions on the right side of customer satisfaction, rebuilding brand trust.
Sally Beauty is reporting that a security break discovered on March 5 affected fewer than 25,000 credit and debit card accounts. The Denton, Texas-based seller of beauty supplies says it is pursuing its investigation with a forensics firm and the U.S. Secret Service.
While American shoppers say they are very concerned about the safety of their personal information following the massive security breach at Target, many aren’t taking steps to ensure their data is secure. Just 37 percent of surveyed consumers have tried to use cash for purchases rather than pay with plastic, and only 41 percent have checked their credit reports. Even fewer have changed their online passwords at retailers’ websites, requested new credit or debit card numbers, or signed up for a credit monitoring service.
On January 1, 2014, California implemented an amendment to its breach notification law. The law applies to companies doing business in California that experience a security breach exposing personal information.