3.5 million birth dates and social security numbers were made available to the public via the Texas Comptroller yesterday. The breach is said to be the largest security mishap in state history.
Apparently this wasn't just a one day screw up. The information was on a public server for one year. This included names, addresses, date of birth, social security number, and driver's license numbers from people in the databases of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, the Texas Workforce Commission, and Employees Retirement System of Texas.
It is no telling how people's identities will now be stolen and who's credit and life will be potentially be ruined. You may see all of the fly by night companies who try to help guard against identity theft, but they really do not help most people who are victimized. It can take years, and sometimes not even then, for a person's credit report to be clear of fraud.
In a time when our economy is floundering, people are out of work, and Texas prepares to lay off hundreds of thousands more people, this is not something to take lightly. While the Attorney General is going to perform a criminal investigation, it should be noted that a "shit, my bad" response from the Comptroller's office really is not sufficient in this case. Susan Combs and her employees should be held accountable.
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