Shostack + Friends Blog Archive

 

5.2% of Georgia residents to get Notice of Stolen Personal Data

State officials on Friday began notifying 465,000 Georgians that they might be at risk of identity theft because of a government security breach detected in April.

Joyce Goldberg, spokeswoman for the Georgia Technology Authority, emphasized that officials had no evidence that any personal data had been used for fraudulent purposes. But she said officials are alerting 244,000 motorists and 221,000 retired teachers, state employees, school employees and others who participated in the state Health Benefits Plan in 2002 that a former GTA employee downloaded their personal information to his home computers.

Officials say they have yet to determine why Siddiqui wanted the information or why it appears not to have been used in three years.

Since the breach was uncovered, the GTA has changed its policies on employee access to information, Goldberg said. GTA employees also are required to sign a form promising not to disclose or misuse any information they have access to through their jobs.

From The Atlanta ‘Bugmenot‘ Journal Constitution, “465,000 Georgians at risk for ID theft.” I’ve mentioned this story before in “Georgia DMV, employee Asif Siddiqui, ‘hundreds of thousands,’” and “Asif Siddiqui Update.” Georgia population 2004 estimate (8,829,383) from US Census Bureau.