Turns out data breaches are older than manned flight

[security curmudgeon <jericho () attrition org>]

(McNamara wrote up a good summary of the DatalossDB contest we had, neat
  point about 'older than manned flight' =)  - jericho)


http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/42302?source=NWWNLE_nlt_buzzblog_2009-06-04

Turns out data breaches are older than manned flight
By Paul McNamara on Mon, 06/01/09 - 9:30am.

What's the oldest data-loss incident on record involving social security 
numbers?

How about health-care industry records?

Well, there's no way to know for certain, but the Open Security 
Foundation's DataLossDB has just concluded a six-week contest that invited 
amateur sleuths to submit the oldest such loss incidents they could find. 
The results were announced this morning on the organization's blog.

Contest rules required that the incidents involve personally identifiable 
information, so there was particular interest in long-ago losses of Social 
Security numbers. Contest winner, Corey Chandler -- who provided answers 
to both of the questions above -- dug back into a New York Times article 
from 1953 (fee required) to learn of an episode that was apparently an 
inside job:

[..]
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