Cops get ChoicePoint Data?
SiliconValley.com reports that a Miami-Dade County police officer has been relieved of duty and is under investigation for allegedly obtaining unauthorized access to Social Security numbers and other personal data on 4,689 people maintained by ChoicePoint Inc. The company reported that the Secret Service was investigating the matter -- at this point, it does not appear that any identity thefts have occurred.
According to ChoicePoint's letter to its customers, the employee was not authorized to use the Miami-Dade Police Department's account with the company and `"had accessed information illegally and acted outside the scope of his employment.''
The incident is a reminder of how easily government and police officials can sometimes retrieve individuals' personal data, and, if they have no valid purpose, how dangerous such breaches can be.
Posted by Bruce Johnson
