Gregory Childress reports that a Chapel Hill councilwoman who is a licensed clinical social worker made an email attachment gaffe that exposed sensitive information on 10 clients to her council colleagues. That she also erroneously attached copies of her and her husband’s 2011 income tax returns is embarrassing, but it is the client data of particular concern because the email account used for council members is open to public viewing.
The error was caught by the town manager, who had IT staff remove it from public view. But another staff member, unaware of the issue, saw the email in a nonpublic folder and sent it to council members using the email address list that included the public account.
Once again, then, the information was on view.
Childress reports:
Some of the mistakenly attached information included insurance forms, some of which included notes about client’s mental health, social security numbers and payment amounts, along with letters from Big BrothersBigSisters of the Triangle and Planned Parenthood of Central North Carolina Inc., thanking the council for monetary contributions to their causes.
Read more on The Herald Sun.