The Risk Report - Oct. 22

Multiple conferences took place around the world (and virtually online) that brought together the industry's leading minds, while some events left us wondering if our leaders even know what a hack is...

🇦🇷 All of Argentina

Hackers gained access earlier this week to Argentina's official national registry, known as RENAPER, containing the government ID card details and numbers of all its 45 million citizens. Soon after the news broke, the hackers began publishing their findings on Twitter, posting the details of many Argentinian celebrities, including soccer player Lionel Messi. Twitter has since suspended the account. Argentinian officials deny that any hack took place.

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🤔 Missouri's teachers

This one we just can't leave out. Last week, a journalist reported a vulnerability in a Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education website that left the Social Security Numbers of its teachers publicly accessible in the HTML source code. Missouri Governor Mike Parson, in response, accused the journalist of hacking the website, when, in reality, anyone can view any website's source code with just the click of a button. Governor Parson has committed to taking legal action against the journalist, and has budgeted $50 million in state funds for recovery efforts. That's one expensive "hack".

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📣 A global privacy standard?

Just days after Google CEO Sundar Pichai called for the US government to enact a federal privacy standard, an executive at the European Commission has now called for a global standard. Speaking at this year's Global Privacy Assembly, Bruno Gencarelli said "it is time to get real" about global cooperation amongst data regulators. That's a lofty goal, but it's got to start somewhere.

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🇨🇦 Changes up north

Amendments have been made to British Columbia's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA) that has some Canadian's celebrating, and some scratching their heads. Changes include the enactment of mandatory breach reporting, $25 fees for Freedom of Information requests, and updates to data-residency laws. "While I support some of the proposed changes, this is a lost opportunity for government to promote greater accountability and transparency", says Michael McEvoy, BC's Information and Privacy Commissioner.

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