When a Virus Bot Becomes a Privacy Breach
I found it very interesting that one of my alma maters, the University of Northern Iowa, reported potential identity theft because, from what the news reported, a "virus" was discovered on one of their laptops containing personal information about 6,000 of theier employees. When discussing privacy breaches it seems that there is a very wide range of definitions for what constitutes a privacy breach. This is the first time I've seen a virus infecting a laptop being considered a privacy breach. Perhaps there is something I'm missing...so I checked other sources. The Des Moines NBC television station reported that the laptop computer was "illegally accessed." The ABC affiliate in Cedar Falls reported even fewer details. Radio Iowa reported a few more details, indicating "...a fire in November in the Cedar Falls school's business building contributed to the breach in computer security...the laptop computer was purchased the day before the fire and since the fire, the business office has been moved twice..." It also indicated a "bot" was discovered on the computer, which is why they reported the incident as a privacy breach. It would be interesting to do a little digging to see types of information these bots have already collected, and what the potential is for them.
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