Data Loss Source: Hackers broke into the Federal Aviation Administration’s computer system.
Date of Breach: Feb. 9, 2009
Size of Loss : 45,000
Affected Individuals: Employees and retirees
Geographic Focus: Washington, DC
Data contained: Personal information about people who had been on the agency’s payroll for the last three years.
Additional Notes: The FAA is sending out notification letters to all of its employees. The statements point out that a toll free number, as well as a website containing information on identity theft protection have also been set up for concerned individuals.
Additional Information: Softpedia

Data Loss Source: Broome Community College, sent out a mailing last week with recipient’s Social Security numbers posted prominently on the back cover.
Date of Breach: Feb. 16, 2009
Size of Loss : 28,000
Affected Individuals: BCC Alumni
Geographic Focus: Binghamton, NY
Data contained: Social Security numbers.
Additional Notes: “It wasn’t prominent. It was on the mailing label. It had no hyphens so unless it’s the person’s whose number it is, it’s not identifiable as a social security number,” says BCC Alumni Affairs Director Natalie Thompson.
Additional Information: WBNG.com

Data Loss Source: Kaiser Permanente is notifying 29,500 of its Northern California employees that a security breach has led to the release of their personal information. In a confiscated computer, police found a file with Kaiser employee data.
Date of Breach: Feb. 10, 2009
Size of Loss : 30,000
Affected Individuals: Kaiser employees
Geographic Focus: U.S.
Data contained: The stolen information included names, addresses, dates of birth and Social Security numbers for Kaiser employees.
Additional Notes: A “handful” of employees have reported identity thefts as a result of the breach, Kaiser said.
Additional Information: San Jose Mercury News

Data Loss Source: A popular bulletin board software package has been taken offline following a security breach that gave an attacker full access to its database. The attacker gained access through an unpatched security bug in PHPlist, a third-party email application.
Date of Breach: Feb. 5, 2009
Size of Loss : 20,000
Affected Individuals: Users of software
Geographic Focus: U.S.
Data contained: Names, email, address, and hashed passwords.
Additional Notes: The hacker who broke in then posted the account info and passwords online for the world to see.
Additional Information: Yahoo! Tech

Data Loss Source: A dry cleaner skipped town, taking her clients’ clothes and credit card numbers with her. Police are searching for Ana Maria Calderon-Melendez, who operated a franchise of the Dry Cleaning Station. She is suspected of fraudulently making charges on customers’ credit cards.
Date of Breach: Feb. 3, 2009
Size of Loss : Unknown
Affected Individuals: Customers of the dry cleaning company
Geographic Focus: Mooresville, NC
Data contained: Names and credit card numbers
Additional Notes: Only three victims so far registered complaints about Calderon-Melendez but police suspect there are more out there.
Additional Information: Mooresville Tribune