Why Is The County Clerk Playing Chicken With Our Personal Info?
Dem County Legislator Travis Heider has an essay in today’s D&C regarding the SS numbers on the County Clerk’s website. Here’s the key portions:
In July 2007, I was contacted by a constituent whose Social Security number was posted without authorization on the Monroe County clerk’s Web site…On the constituent’s behalf, I addressed a letter to County Clerk Cheryl Dinolfo in the hope that she immediately remove the data in this instance, and that her office review general policies regarding the disposition of sensitive personal information.
(snip)
Dinolfo, in her defense, has said that the information is being removed from the Web site. Such a position is absurd, for it places a significant number of citizens, whose Social Security numbers remain on the Web site, at considerable risk of having their information stolen.
The Web site should be shut down until Dinolfo can verify that all Social Security numbers have been removed.
(snip)
As elected officials, we have a duty to speak out against public policies that do not serve the public’s best interests. My colleagues and I renew our demand that Dinolfo act quickly without any further delays to remedy this potentially dangerous situation.
To this day, almost three weeks after this story broke, social security numbers remain on her website. You’d be surprised whose info is on there– from a brief browse I found lots of info– from local media personalities to regular folks.
Concerned about your personal info? Want it off the County Clerk’s site? Clerk candidate Tom Hasman’s website has a way to officially request that your info be taken off the site. It takes about 1 minute to fill out the form and send the request.
I still can’t figure out why the personal info is still out there, 3 weeks later.
Shortly after news of this abysmal failure broke I learned that three members of my immediate family had their social security numbers compromised. After I notified Dinolfo’s office, she took two full days to remove them. That’s just pathetic. Although I know the Monroe County GOP has a penchant for denying any mistakes, this situation is such an obvious screw up that her foot dragging would be laughable if the consequences weren’t so dire.
She truly is pathetic because she is willing to endanger her constituents in order to make a political point (ie that she doesnt have to shut down the site to remove the numbers). It’s totally crazy.
it proves she is a politician and not a public servant.