SSA exposed SSNs, names, birth dates for 36, 000 people, IG says

2011-04-18 08:09

http://fcw.com/articles/2011/04/14/ssa-privacy-breach-death-master-file.aspx By Alice Lipowicz FCW.com April 14, 2011 The Social Security Administration publicly made available the names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and other sensitive personal information on more than 36,000 people from May 2007 to April 2010 despite being warned about the privacy risks, according to a report from SSA's Office of the Inspector General. The information was erroneously included in SSAâs Death Master File sold to the public. The 36,657 people affected were not deceased, and the release of the personal information was considered a breach of privacy, the report states. The IG first told SSA officials in June 2008 to take precautions against a pattern of publishing the personal information of living people in its database of death-related information, the report states, adding that there was no indication that organized identity thefts were taking place. However, SSA did not follow those precautions, and the agency continued to expose personal data of people mistakenly included in its Death Master File, according to the March 31 report. [...]

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