Texas comptroller mistakenly posts public record

[RPB]

http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_17820093" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
By WILL WEISSERT Associated Press
Posted: 04/11/2011 01:56:27 PM MDT
Updated: 04/11/2011 02:38:04 PM MDT

Read more: Texas comptroller mistakenly posts public records - The Denver Post http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/c ... z1JFsOTpol" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[WildBill]

This is inexcusable. Records such as this should never be put on a public server.

[baldeagle]

This about the fourth or fifth time my information has been compromised (VA, Ameritrade, Citibank, Capitol One, Texas State government). At this point I have absolutely no expectation of privacy from either public or private sources. When it comes to identity protection, you are on your own. Neither the government nor private industry is going to protect you.

[RPB]

This about the fourth or fifth time my information has been compromised (VA, Ameritrade, Citibank, Capitol One, Texas State government). At this point I have absolutely no expectation of privacy from either public or private sources. When it comes to identity protection, you are on your own. Neither the government nor private industry is going to protect you.

But ... but ... but ... I thought that the government is supposed to protect me in all areas of life ...

[Commander]

Great.....as a retired state employee, I'm very concerned about the exposure of all my personal data. The comptrollers website says that letters are being sent to those whose information was made public. I'm dreading finding one in my mail box.

[RPB]

Here's what I think is a second error.

Announcing that the info has been removed from public servers but ...... was up for a year.

"Internet Archive" "Wayback Machine" + Google's "cached pages" .... etc etc etc

They really just should say it was removed .... not that it's maybe/probably still findable if you know where to look...

When I worked for MSN, (Head of Network+Server Security for high-profile celebrity chats/lectures) when I'd inform them of potential security problems, my bosses used to say "No one would ever think of that, you just have an evil mind" ..... later, when Hackerwannabes actually did the things I warned of ... they had programmers trying to patch stuff really really fast.... some things are foreseeable, and "willful blindness" didn't work real well for Colin Goddard in the past, though it's the preferred tactic of many ostriches who enjoy "head in the sand" ....
perhaps the sand is cool and refreshing, [FEELS good] but....

[olafpfj]

This kind of stuff just drives me nuts. What really stinks is that if someone does use your info that was compromised it is going to be on your head to fix it, as if it was your fault.

This brings me back to my stance that "Identity Theft" is a myth. No one stole my identity and took out a credit card!!! What they did was foil the credit companies security system and steal money from...not me...from the CREDIT COMPANY!!!

I should never have to prove that it is not me, they need to prove that it is me. Its not like you even have the option to opt out of a system. People who have never had a credit card find themselves fighting a company because someone took a card out in their name and the bank is making them responsible for it.

Private industry and the government created the "Identity" system and have forced us all to be a part of it whether we want to or not and somehow its our problem when someone compromises it.....

[RPB]

I think I'll sign all my credit cards as "Ask for retina scan, my RFID chip implant battery died"

[baldeagle]

Here's the ultimate irony: Protecting Texans' Identities: The Challenges of Securing Privacy in Transparent Government - published by none other than the Texas State Comptrollers Office just two months ago.

[jordanmills]

Glad I don't work there any more...

[b322da]

Great.....as a retired state employee, I'm very concerned about the exposure of all my personal data. The comptrollers website says that letters are being sent to those whose information was made public. I'm dreading finding one in my mail box.

We all should be worried, Commander.

I see in the Houston Chronicle that the letter as drafted will suggest actions the outed citizen can take after the fact. Pretty much the same thing in the letters many of us got from private companies pulling such a stupid stunt. The one thing I did not see in the draft of the letter from the state, but which I occasionally saw in similar letters from private companies, was an offer to pay for those steps a person reasonably takes, nor for reimbursing persons for losses as a result of this.

Elmo

[rdcrags]

Am I the only one who will not advise the patrolling constables when we are going to be gone (think computer listing)? Am I the only one who will not tell the Houston Chronicle that I want a "vacation stop and start"? Remember the case with the two female employees in the Circulation Department? I just say "Stop the paper, period!"