Slashdot Mirror
On Taking the Data?
Anonymous for the Moment asks: "While working in a grant-paid position in a big University, I had access to massive amounts of administrative health data. I was repeatedly, over the course of months, told to take data and not tell the people who were in charge of it that I had it (which is a big no-no). I informed the people who held the data, but they were mostly non-responsive, and I figured this was because they would get in trouble with the province and the people who's records they were keeping. I finally blew the whistle to the Ethics Committee, but it has been over six months, and they too have not responded. I am wondering how long I should wait before going to the media and letting the people of the province know that their data is not being treated with respect. Has anyone else had an experience where they were told to access other's data without permission? I am aware of others at my University who have been put in similar situations, but is it just my University, or is it more widespread than that?"
The longer you wait, the worse it will get for the case.
The fact is, you have broken the law, and others have broken the law.
There are very strict guidelines for how private records are supposed to be handled. The fact that you have encountered such a festering pool of criminality in this regard is something which needs to be brought to public light, immediately.
Don't waste any more time 'asking slashdot', just go straight to jail, do not collect $200, and do not pass Go.
; -- the corruption of government starts with its secrets. a truly free people keep no secrets. --
I hate to dodge the question, but... I completely forgot how many of the little green pills I was supposed to take each day. At first i thought it was two before dinner and then one in the morning, but I tried that and i now i can't sleep...
Anyway, if you could look up that info for me and just shoot it to me in an email that would be great, send it to sje... aw heck, just post it as a reply, apparently the data is insecure as is!
</humor>
Cloud City Digital: DVD Production at its cheapest/finest
Your province should have an ombudsman and privacy commissioner as well. You will want to get a package of data or evidence together documenting this, and fire it off to the cops, ombudsman and privacy commissioner. You will also want to talk to the federal government's privacy and information access commissioners.
The media would be a double-edged sword. Once this hits the police you won't have to worry about media interest.
Get a lawyer, now, and don't waste any more time about it.
========================================
Death will come, and will have your eyes
-- Pavese
I bet you will have a response within a week. If not, wait a reasonable time (1 month) and then carry out your threat.
Your account of your situation was understandably one-sided. Has the thought crossed your mind that perhaps the ethics committee hasn't done anything about this problem because they simply don't think it's a very big deal?
I have no way of knowing, from your post, whether your situation is actually significant or not. It may seem significant to you, but to others it may seem trivial at best. Before you go wasting anybody else's time on this, you might want to take a little time to consider whether it's really worth getting all up-in-arms about.
For all I know, you may have done this already. But if you haven't, please do so.
I write in my journal
Are you from Canada?
You don't mention who was telling you to do this. It would seem to be an important part of the picture. I don't mean you should give us names and addresses, of course -- but what was your relationship to the person or people urging you to do this, and why did they want you to take the data? Were they interested in the data, or did they want you to do something with it? Did somebody try to buy it from you?
The obvious answer, as others have already posted, is to go directly to the police. I don't know about Canada (many of us are assuming you're from Canada) but I believe (IANAL) in the US it's illegal to incite another person to commit a crime. In any case, it would be hard to imagine that they wouldn't be interested.
The fact that you haven't yet gone to the cops suggests there may be other mitigating circumstances of interest, which were not presented in the article.
Details, please?
Slashdot quality declines as the number of hot grits posts decreases. - Provolt's Law, Apr-09-2005
And get a GOOD lawyer. NOW. You're gonna need one. But if you're the whistleblower, you stand a good chance of being oke- just make sure that you've got documentation of the incidents when they happen, and of your attempts to let your workplace correct the situation. Did i mention the really good lawyer you should be calling?
"I'd say 'Have a good time,' but arson is still illegal.
Then go to the police!!!
All Troll + "offtopic" mods are meta moderated as "Unfair", because you abused the system.
But, yes, go to the police. Perhaps try to also find others in your office/space (thing) who've been confronted and/or asked to take data, as you were. Be careful to not alienate them.
About that pesky detail of the data, though, why would you take it? What use would it really have to just take someone's data? I mean, yeah, that'd be insecure like nothing else, and it's someone's personal data that would be trodding about, but what the hell would have been the point to take it in the first place? Surely not to just make it insecure for someone else.
...or is it?
Informatus Technologicus
http://www.privcom.gc.ca/ might be a good site for you to check out.
-------
Support Indy Music. Buy
---this is good, the more people who become aquainted to "in your face" high level corruption, the more people realise that their preconcieved notions of government/industry and the blends that are represented by instituitions like some universities, the quicker we can stop this slide to global fascism and big brotherism. Fascism only comes about from people al over being gradually introduced to it,going along with it, then it becomes "normal" and acceptable. Cashing the check and not making waves and overlooking "wrongness" becomes such a normal part of life that true evil can spread and become "normal". It takes actually seeing it to sink in for most people. Your situation isn't unique, it goes across the board, almost everywhere. It's different but not unique.
Practical solutions, document, make copies,take notes, times dates places names, who ordered what, etc, now keep them in different places. Approach both a public styled lawyer who is zealous of human rights, and also a mercenary type lawyer who's main strengths are big teeth and a willingness to use them, because you might wind up needing both types of lawyers.
Being a whistleblower is fraught with dangers, they frequently get massively screwed, as what low level corruption you uncover is usually the tip of the iceberg. Been there, done that, got the death threats myself, from government corruption. That is the main reason I rant so much on politics, seen too much really foul stuff happen and the perps get away with it. It CHANGES your outlook.
This is why the larger the government, the worse it gets, why more centralization is bad, why larger international monopolistic corporations have more scandals of much farther reaching consequences, why "closed-secret-hidden" is a bad model and why "open-free-exposed" is a better model. It's because people who really seek out "power" are ill equipped for it, they are usually the WORST choices possible, but our society insists that is the way to do it,to make everything a pyramidal structure based on..well, ruthlessness mostly. Cunning, reptile brain uncaring sociopathic ruthlessness. Not to mention the Peter Principle. Not in every case, no, not saying that, but in so many cases take it is as a default until proven otherwise, that's the safer bet.
Good luck, research the applicable laws FIRST before you do much more, cover your butt, because poking sticks at mad dogs will get you bit without some precautions. I've been able to prevail twice in matters of law and serious crime with me versus corrupt government, and it took every brain cell I had and a big dose of pure indignation and meaness I get when I see "bad" stuff happen to people to prevail. I so much believe in righteous self defense that I take stuff like that personal, so I think accordingly and I won't take their lying BS as the truth until I've exhausted all other avenues. You have to be like the sean connery character in the movie "untouchables". He's advising young elliot ness as represented by harrrison ford. He's telling him "you really want to take on the mob? This is what you do. One of his boys pulls a knife, you pull a gun. One of his boys puts one of your's in the hospital, you put one of their's in the morgue". That's sort of the mindset you need in analogous fashion fighting official corruption, or corporate corruption when you are stuck with it in your face. If you can't be that tough and smart, pass the baton to someone who can and bailout.
From what I can see it's the same dealing with private business or quasi private like unis are, you got to really understand you could be battling a much stronger and evil enemy than what you even think now. People in power and with large sums of cash to keep, even ill-gotten cash and ill-gotten power, can be downright nasty, so just be prepared for it. And make sure what you are seeing is really low-level corruption, it could be it's being ordered to happen by governmental police agencies, who in turn are circumventing the law, because they can, and always assume when talking to the law that they could very well lie to you and are never your friend. At best they are neutral, but never really on your side, even if they act like it.. it happens all the time, all over.
There's lotsa strange crap going on with this bogus "war on terrorism" dodge that the global fascists are pushing. Personal privacy and what you think is secure has been tossed out the window, it don't exist except in some idealistic but not practical thinking people's minds. Make sure you are really seeing what you *think* you are seeing before making any moves.
aaak, hope this was useful, I just hate to see innocent and honest people get shafted, it fries my grits to the max.
If you are willing to go through the fallout that will result from you causing alot of trouble in your department, speak to the proper authorities.
Otherwise, shut up like everyone else.
Conformity is the jailer of freedom and enemy of growth. -JFK
as of april 14, 2003 you can involve the feds....
www.HIPPA.org....check the PRIVACY acts of HIPAA
Diablo2 meets ProgressQuest but with the programmability of Robocode!
I love it! I can't wait to try it.
ooops...wrong window - sorry.
Blown the whistle.
And let me tell you, almost no one cares. Except, primarially, for 2 people - the Media, and the government.
Don't talk to the police, for they won't do anything, and things won't change unless you put some pressure on them - the media will do this.
That's what I had to do. I talked to the newspaper and tv stations in town, and got my story out this way. Federal and State Goverment where watching, and they started investigating.
Long story short, I tried for 3 years to get someone to do something about it, but it only took 3 months after I told the media that several persons responsible where charged.
I think you should go to the media with this, but first you should consider running a few queries on the data, such as a proximity search for twenty-something nymphomaniacs in your province.
There are no karma whores, only moderation johns
Since you used the word "province" I assume you are not in the U.S.
You should consult an attorney right away. In the US, disclosure of malfeasance in a university, governmental, or nonprofit environment, is subject to special laws for the benefit of "whistleblowers." If, for example, you were to discover someone filing false claims or otherwise defrauding a governmental entity, the False Claims Act provides cash bounties that can run into the millions of dollars. The attorney you consult can also tell you about your job rights and what to do if you suffer retaliation.
GET A LAWYER, NOW!
GET A LAWYER, NOW!
Before you do practically anything else (you might shower and dress respectably first), you need the advice and counsel of someone who knows what the law is, not people who think they might have an idea what it is. You need the advice and counsel of someone who knows what the law is and whose only obligation is to look out for your best interests. Show them any contract and other paperwork you have related to your position. Find out exactly what your obligations and vulnerabilities are. Get their opinion on going to the media anonymously or otherwise.
Did I mention that you're already running late on finding a damn good lawyer to keep the powers that be from throwing you to the wolves and labeling you a terrorist hacker?
Without a good lawyer you're currently swimming with the sharks whilst wearing a raw steak bathing suit.
I see even classic Slashdot is now pretty much unusable on dial up anymore.
You mention administrative health data. If you're talking about medical records and are in the United States (it sounds like you are from Canada), then this is clearly against the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. I certinly hope that other countries have similar regulations. All institutions not granted an extention are required to meet HIPAA standards for data security very soon now. For more details on what you should do, check out http://www.hipaa.org/. If you're not in the United States, PLEASE check your local laws. Medical records should NOT be accessable except to those that require access to them and have permission to do so.
I don't get the impression that this guy could actually afford a good lawyer.
Would probably make more sense to jump ship - quickly.
It turned out at my university there was a "Judicial Director" whose job it was to deal with things like this. He hooked me up with the university police and a deputy DA who wired me for sound and had me do a couple undercover ops.
Upside? - I kept my nose clean, did the right thing, and it was actually ALOT of fun ;) Downside - I couldn't use that guy for a reference so it has been difficult to find a job....
Religion is a gateway psychosis. -- Dave Foley