[Dataloss] CT: Worker Data Was On Web

[Dissent]

http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-stateinfo0217.artfeb17,0,7667978.story?coll=hc-headlines-politics-state

Personal information for hundreds of state employees - including 
their names and Social Security numbers - was inadvertently posted on 
the Internet, the state comptroller's office said Friday.

Officials said they believe the risk of identity theft is low, though 
the information had been on a state website for more than three 
years. The problem was discovered in January, and the 1,753 employees 
affected were informed of the mistake in letters mailed Feb. 8, officials said.

The personal information was included in a spreadsheet of vendors 
used by the state that was accessible to the public on the state 
Department of Administrative Services website, according to Steven 
Jensen, a spokesman for state Comptroller Nancy S. Wyman's office.

[...]

According to the letter sent to employees from the comptroller's 
office, the spreadsheet was accessible to the public only when a 
specific name on it was searched. There was no menu or published link 
available where individuals could simply click on a title and open it.

The Social Security numbers were displayed without hyphens and each 
had a numerical suffix attached, making them not easily recognizable, 
the letter said.

The file was removed from the site and then "scrubbed" clean by 
information technology specialists to be certain it could no longer 
be accessed, Jensen said.

[...]

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