It is unknown how the documents ended up unshredded at the dumpster, and there is currently an investigation underway. Anyone who may believe their information may have been included in this incident, or if anyone has any information regarding who may have dumped the documents, they are encouraged to contact the Governor’s Office of Consumer Affairs. These individuals should also consider identity theft protection to ensure their personal information is not used fraudulently.

For individuals who have students at Isaac Miller Elementary School, they are highly recommended to closely watch their financial records and to consider identity theft protection services to ensure that their data is safe and not being used inappropriately for fraud or identity theft.

The Vermont Department of Taxes is mailing out letters to individuals and businesses who may have been affected, advising them of the proper steps to protect their personal data with credit protection services. In the meantime, the tax department is reviewing their safeguard and disclosure practices to ensure that a situation such as this does not occur in the future.

The computer virus has been key-logging and transmitting information to various countries, such as Russia and China. This may have allowed credit card numbers, passwords, and other personal information of computer users to be submitted to individuals who are using the information for identity theft. It is believed that this virus may have been on the computers for over ten years, which means that thousands of individuals could be affected by this.

The computer lab was shut down while the IT department looked into the situation, and students and alumni have been contacting City College of San Francisco and the police with questions regarding the situation. At this point in time, anyone that may have used the computer lab at the college is encouraged to check their credit reports, either manually or with a credit report monitoring service to ensure no unusual or suspicious activity is happening on their financial accounts.

The laptop and hard drive included the Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, birth dates, and contact information of both individuals who had undergone drug testing as well as the collection technicians. Both are at risk for identity theft if the stolen goods are hacked for their sensitive information.

Individuals who were affected by this incident are being sent a letter int he mail with information on how to obtain two years of credit monitoring services through Equifax.

The computer was believed to be stolen from the Department of Human Services (DHS) Gateway Center in Springfield, and contained private information of individuals who were fingerprinted at either the Willamette Street office in Eugene or the Gateway Center in Springfield. Information stored on the computer included Social Security numbers, full names, and other data. While the computer was encrypted and password protected, there is always a risk of identity theft regardless.

Oregon DHS suggests individuals set up fraud alerts on their account, and call the established hotline at 1-855-360-4554 with any questions or information. Individuals who are concerned about their identity can register for identity theft protection.

The attacks were viable due to a supposed 200 GB worth of information that was unencrypted. Leaving such sensitive data unencrypted may cause not only extensive identify theft, but embarrassment for such security-related companies such as Stratfor.

Protecting yourself from identity theft due to instances such as these is as easy as signing up for credit protection services. You can protect your Social Security number and your financial accounts by simply registering for services in order to keep hackers and third-parties from accessing and opening new accounts under your name–without your consent.

The employees has been fired, and the incident is under continued investigation to determine if the information was used inappropriately. In the meantime, letters have been sent to those affected with free credit monitoring service sign-up information.

Although the whereabouts of the drive have been undetermined, Dr. Liaw has been contacting the patients whose information was stored on the drive and notifying them of the loss. Since then, extra precautions have been taken, including encrypting the data on the drives and keeping such drives in locked storage.

If you were a patient of Dr. Liaw in Washington and are concerned about your personal information, it is a smart move to consider signing up for identity theft protection service to ensure protection of your data.

The hackers allegedly accessed 150 Subway restaurants from 2008 to 2011, obtaining credit card information as well as PIN numbers to access accounts. They apparently set up accounts through GoDaddy and other services in order to store the data on FTP sites, then used the information to make fraudulent purchases.

This kind of activity happens more often than you’d think. This is why it is so important to have credit monitoring services to keep a close eye on your financial accounts and ensure that your good name stays strong, regardless of what happens to your credit due to identity theft and fraud.