Telly
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
- Joined
- Feb 22, 2003
- Messages
- 2,395
Texas Safeguard: Comptroller's Office Begins Notification of Personal Information Exposure
"The Texas Comptroller’s office is sending letters beginning Wednesday, April 13, to notify a large number of Texans whose personal information was inadvertently disclosed on an agency server that was accessible to the public. The records of about three and a half million people were erroneously placed on the server with personally identifying information."
And the statement that always makes me see red in these "inadvertant exposure" situations:
"There is no indication the personal information was misused."
No, you have no friggin' idea if any of it has been misused or not, because nobody came up to your office, danced around your desk in circles, and gleefully shouted 'I've got your social security number, name and address, and maybe your driver's license number, too, naaa naaa naaa naaa.
So, after screwing it up totally, how will the state of Texas make amends for this data being exposed? Free credit monitoring for all those exposed for 2 years? 1 year?
No, they create another website with some "helpful hints" on how you can check, after the fact, if your info has been used to your detriment, after it finally shows up at one or more credit bureaus.
“I deeply regret the exposure of the personal information that occurred and am angry that it happened,” Texas Comptroller Susan Combs said. “I want to reassure people that the information was sealed off from any public access immediately after the mistake was discovered and was then moved to a secure location. We take information security very seriously and this type of exposure will not happen again.”
Uh-huh. The data of 3.2 million people had been exposed for over a year! And the other 281,000 people's data had been exposed for 11 months. So what do we need to solve this once and for all?
Hmmm, let's see... Wait, I Know, I Know! That's right... more legislation!
"The Comptroller views the protection of personal information as a serious issue. She will be working with the Legislature to advance legislation to enhance information security as outlined in the Protecting Texans’ Identities report she released in December. This would include the designation of Chief Privacy Officers at each agency as well as the creation of an Information Security Council in the state."
Typical government smokescreen for their inability to follow their existing procedures, and to check if they were indeed being followed. Need new legislation... we need that legislation, THAT would have prevented it. Sure it would.
"The Texas Comptroller’s office is sending letters beginning Wednesday, April 13, to notify a large number of Texans whose personal information was inadvertently disclosed on an agency server that was accessible to the public. The records of about three and a half million people were erroneously placed on the server with personally identifying information."
And the statement that always makes me see red in these "inadvertant exposure" situations:
"There is no indication the personal information was misused."
No, you have no friggin' idea if any of it has been misused or not, because nobody came up to your office, danced around your desk in circles, and gleefully shouted 'I've got your social security number, name and address, and maybe your driver's license number, too, naaa naaa naaa naaa.
So, after screwing it up totally, how will the state of Texas make amends for this data being exposed? Free credit monitoring for all those exposed for 2 years? 1 year?
No, they create another website with some "helpful hints" on how you can check, after the fact, if your info has been used to your detriment, after it finally shows up at one or more credit bureaus.
“I deeply regret the exposure of the personal information that occurred and am angry that it happened,” Texas Comptroller Susan Combs said. “I want to reassure people that the information was sealed off from any public access immediately after the mistake was discovered and was then moved to a secure location. We take information security very seriously and this type of exposure will not happen again.”
Uh-huh. The data of 3.2 million people had been exposed for over a year! And the other 281,000 people's data had been exposed for 11 months. So what do we need to solve this once and for all?
Hmmm, let's see... Wait, I Know, I Know! That's right... more legislation!
"The Comptroller views the protection of personal information as a serious issue. She will be working with the Legislature to advance legislation to enhance information security as outlined in the Protecting Texans’ Identities report she released in December. This would include the designation of Chief Privacy Officers at each agency as well as the creation of an Information Security Council in the state."
Typical government smokescreen for their inability to follow their existing procedures, and to check if they were indeed being followed. Need new legislation... we need that legislation, THAT would have prevented it. Sure it would.
