650,000 Credit Card Holders Data Lost
The Associated Press has reported personal information of 650,000 customers of J.C and Penny and up to 100 other retailers went missing, making data fraud really vulnerable. It all started with GE Money, a member of General Electric discovering a missing computer backup tape in last October.
Personal information on about 650,000 customers of J.C. Penney and up to 100 other retailers could be compromised after a computer tape went missing. GE Money, which handles credit card operations for Penney and many other retailers, said Thursday night that the missing information includes Social Security numbers for about 150,000 people. (read more about it here)
With Social Security numbers and personal information being compromised, should the data falls in the hands of a syndicate that basically makes use of people’s information to fraud, the consequences can be really scary.
That being said, should GE be responsible for leaking such information? What sort of compensation could the huge number of 650,000 people seek should anything happen to them?
It is often irrational to treat the mere loss of a tape as a legally-meaningful breach of security.
I would understand your analogy in this, but is sensitive personal information that cheap? What if someone makes use of the identity data in the information to commit crimes?