James Mayse reports for the Messenger-Inquirer:
The names, Social Security numbers and dates of birth of thousands of people who visited the Green River District Health Department were available unsecured online for months, at least since October.
But the company maintaining the computer database fixed the problem immediately Wednesday evening after being notified by the Messenger-Inquirer. Numerous follow-ups by M-I reporters and editors found that the database had been secured and now requires a password to access.
The database was created by Fox Technology Group, an Owensboro company that has since been absorbed by Integranetics. The Messenger-Inquirer found 9,986 names and personal information of Daviess County residents on the list after being notified of the problem by a concerned resident who discovered the information while doing a simple Google search.
Almost all of the names included dates of birth, and more than half included Social Security information.
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See update of 3-16-11 here.