[Dataloss] (update) Fed breach leaks Social Security numbers

[lyger]

(first 30K, then 150K, now 63K... hope everybody has erasers handy...)

http://origin.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_5714663

The Social Security numbers of 63,000 people who received Agriculture 
Department grants have been posted on a government Web site since 1996, 
but they were taken down last week. Free credit monitoring is being 
offered to those affected.

The security breach was only noticed last week and promptly closed, the 
Agriculture Department and Census Bureau announced Friday.

The Agriculture data that included Social Security numbers were removed 
from the Web on April 13 and similar data from 32 other agencies were 
taken down April 17 as a precaution, said Agriculture spokeswoman Terri 
Teuber.

[...]

The department originally said Friday the Social Security numbers of 
105,000 to 150,000 individuals had been entered into federal databases 
open to the public since 1981. But by Friday evening, after they 
calculated how many people had been entered more than once, USDA announced 
that 63,000 individuals had their Social Security numbers exposed. The 
data has only been posted on the Internet by the Census Bureau since 1996.

[...]