Phaedra Laird reports: Authorities in Middle Township are investigating how documents from Municipal Hall containing personal information like social security numbers, landed in a public dumpster. The information, which was handed over to officials, could’ve easily landed in the wrong hands. “Oh, I got some more social security numbers.” When Carla Carpenter came to the…
Category: Exposure
OH: Disclosure law doesn’t cover misplaced documents
Josh Sweigart reports: If a government misplaces a pile of documents containing confidential information in a Dumpster, they don’t have to tell anyone. If they lose a password protected laptop computer, state law requires public disclosure within 45 days. That is why Butler County wasn’t required to tell the 10,600 people potentially affected by a…
IL: Springfield publishes private info on FOIA website
Bruce Rushton reports: Admitting that it “goofed,” the city of Springfield put documents online that contained sensitive information such as Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, home and work telephone numbers and even a bank account number and the name of someone who called the state anonymously to report suspected child abuse. The documents were…
TN: Sensitive Medical Paperwork Dumped In Church Lot
Nicole Ferguson reports: Thousands of patient records, surgery information, Social Security numbers and bank information were found dumped behind a Nashville Church. The discovery was made Monday morning at the Nashville Center Point Church of the Nazarene off 54th Avenue. […] The documents came from the now defunct and bankrupt Nursing Visioned Medical Services group,…
Nl: City sends wrong file
Seen at Karin Spaink’s blog: After requesting a directory of the services of city X, a citizen of that city was sent not that directory, but a file containing the names of the circa 2800 people living in that city who may not renew their passport or who have to hand in their passport. Reasons…
NHTSA’s Complaint Database Leaks Private Information Like A Sieve
Edward Niedermeyer reports: Our Canadian pal carquestions took a look through NHTSA’s public complaint database, and found four examples of personal information that NHTSA should have redacted but didn’t. You know, things like names, birth dates, social security numbers, addresses, VINs, and drivers license numbers. And he found those four after searching through “12 or…