First Magnus Financial customer data found in dumpster
Technorati Tag: Security Breach
Date Reported:
2/15/08
Organization:
First Magnus Financial Corporation
Contractor/Consultant/Branch:
None
Victims:
Customers
Number Affected:
Unknown
Types of Data:
Loan and financial documents containing names, addresses, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, financial account information, etc.
Breach Description:
Stacked boxes containing thousands of sensitive loan and financial documents were discovered in an dumpster outside a Ft. Lauderdale, Florida branch of the now bankrupt First Magnus Financial Corporation. The documents contain sensitive personal information belonging to customers.
Reference URL:
CBS Channel 4 News online story
Report Credit:
Carey Codd, CBS Channel 4
Response:
From the online source cited above:
Outside a University of Phoenix Building in Ft. Lauderdale, files and paperwork belonging to the defunct First Magnus Financial at 550 West Cypress Creek Road were just lying inside stacked boxes inside an industrial garbage container, available for anyone to peek at.
The paperwork contains some of the most sensitive information a consumer could posses: Social Security numbers, credit card information, addresses, properties, etc.
Shortly after CBS4 News cameras arrived on Friday, employees of the building removed the boxes and took them indoors, all while police officers from Ft. Lauderdale arrived and roped off access to the dumpster and started an investigation.
[Evan] The Ft. Lauderdale Police Department treats the location of this breach as a crime scene, which it obviously is. Common sense, right? Not so much in some police departments. I have read credible reports of police refusing to even come to the scene and taking reports over the telephone. Kudos to the Ft. Lauderdale Police Department.
"We were told that we just could get rid of this stuff no matter how, that this was going to end up in the landfill, it's going to be drenched down here inside the container, and no one's going to have access to it," said Mike Shank.
[Evan] This is lazy, reckless, and overall bad business (assuming that this statement is accurate).
The building management is supposedly waiting for officials with First Magnus to come and properly dispose of the sensitive documents.
[Evan] I wouldn't hold my breath. First Magnus is bankrupt and has not paid employees after the company folded on August 16, 2007. Who from First Magnus is left to come and get the documents?
Commentary:
Bankruptcy stinks. It stinks for creditors, customers and employees. This bankruptcy stinks a little more for customers because of poor common sense and judgment. Thankfully, someone reported the poorly discarded documents in the dumpster and reported it before (it appears) they fell into the hands of the nefarious. I wonder where the documents are now and who has access to them, supposing they still exist.
Not only did First Magnus have a business responsibility for the protection of senstive information (which ceases with the business), but they also have a moral responsibility (which does not cease).
Past Breaches:
Unknown
Date Reported:2/15/08
Organization:
First Magnus Financial Corporation
Contractor/Consultant/Branch:
None
Victims:
Customers
Number Affected:
Unknown
Types of Data:
Loan and financial documents containing names, addresses, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, credit card numbers, financial account information, etc.
Breach Description:
Stacked boxes containing thousands of sensitive loan and financial documents were discovered in an dumpster outside a Ft. Lauderdale, Florida branch of the now bankrupt First Magnus Financial Corporation. The documents contain sensitive personal information belonging to customers.
Reference URL:
CBS Channel 4 News online story
Report Credit:
Carey Codd, CBS Channel 4
Response:
From the online source cited above:
Outside a University of Phoenix Building in Ft. Lauderdale, files and paperwork belonging to the defunct First Magnus Financial at 550 West Cypress Creek Road were just lying inside stacked boxes inside an industrial garbage container, available for anyone to peek at.
The paperwork contains some of the most sensitive information a consumer could posses: Social Security numbers, credit card information, addresses, properties, etc.
Shortly after CBS4 News cameras arrived on Friday, employees of the building removed the boxes and took them indoors, all while police officers from Ft. Lauderdale arrived and roped off access to the dumpster and started an investigation.
[Evan] The Ft. Lauderdale Police Department treats the location of this breach as a crime scene, which it obviously is. Common sense, right? Not so much in some police departments. I have read credible reports of police refusing to even come to the scene and taking reports over the telephone. Kudos to the Ft. Lauderdale Police Department.
"We were told that we just could get rid of this stuff no matter how, that this was going to end up in the landfill, it's going to be drenched down here inside the container, and no one's going to have access to it," said Mike Shank.
[Evan] This is lazy, reckless, and overall bad business (assuming that this statement is accurate).
The building management is supposedly waiting for officials with First Magnus to come and properly dispose of the sensitive documents.
[Evan] I wouldn't hold my breath. First Magnus is bankrupt and has not paid employees after the company folded on August 16, 2007. Who from First Magnus is left to come and get the documents?
Commentary:
Bankruptcy stinks. It stinks for creditors, customers and employees. This bankruptcy stinks a little more for customers because of poor common sense and judgment. Thankfully, someone reported the poorly discarded documents in the dumpster and reported it before (it appears) they fell into the hands of the nefarious. I wonder where the documents are now and who has access to them, supposing they still exist.
Not only did First Magnus have a business responsibility for the protection of senstive information (which ceases with the business), but they also have a moral responsibility (which does not cease).
Past Breaches:
Unknown
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