Yet another laptop loss: Voter registration + SSNs

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

________________________________________
From: Malin, Bradley A [b.malin () Vanderbilt Edu]
Sent: Monday, January 07, 2008 10:37 AM
To: David Farber
Subject: Yet another laptop loss: Voter registration + SSNs

Hi Dave, while it may be standard fair in today's market, it's
interesting that this would happen so close to election season.

Cheers,

-brad

http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080103/NEWS0202/8
01030369

Thursday, 01/03/08
Data loss shakes voter trust
Facility guarded half-time on weekends

By MICHAEL CASS
Staff Writer

The Metro Nashville building from which thieves stole two computers
containing sensitive voter data does not have security guards on duty
for half of the day on weekends, and it has no alarm system or video
surveillance.

The Metro Office Building on Second Avenue South has had one guard on
duty 12 hours a day on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays for about 10
years, said Velvet Hunter, Metro General Services' assistant director
for administration. She declined to specify the hours, citing concerns
that publicity could make the facility more vulnerable.

Hunter said city officials decide how to secure buildings based on "a
risk assessment of all factors." She said the Metro Office Building,
which is on Second Avenue South near Howard School Office Building, had
never been burglarized until the laptops were stolen around Christmas.

But the area around the building, which is just off Interstate 40, has
had problems with crime. Four homicides were committed within a
half-mile of the facility in 2007, and seven homicides within a mile of
it, according to a Tennessean analysis of Metro police data.

The two Dell Latitude laptops, one of which needed repairs, contained
Social Security numbers for 337,000 voters. Police said Wednesday that a
computer router also stolen in the break-in at the Davidson County
Election Commission offices "went offline" at 9:45 p.m. Dec. 24.

<snip>

-------------------------------------------
Archives: http://v2.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now
RSS Feed: http://v2.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/
Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com