[Dataloss] At Least 20 Big-Name Passports Breached

[Chris Walsh]

Reports I read said that as part of their training, contractors are told
to bring up the file on somebody (whom they pick).  Most trainees pick a
relative, the article said.

This is of concern on several levels, the most obvious of which is the blatant
disregard for privacy that it shows.  In 30 seconds, I could rewrite this
training regime to preserve privacy -- just have trainees be instructed to
bring up a record which exists solely for training!  John Q Public of 123
Main St., Anytown USA comes to mind.

The fact that live data is used for training, when the contents are
sensitive is quite disheartening.  This is a systemic problem, not one that
just impacts Senators or dead celebrities.

cw
On Wed, Mar 26, 2008 at 11:12:05PM -0400, Richard Forno wrote:
> At Least 20 Big-Name Passports Breached
> Last Edited: Wednesday, 26 Mar 2008, 6:47 PM EDT
> 
> http://www.myfoxdc.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=6140974&version=2&l
> ocale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.3.1
> 
> 
> WASHINGTON  --  State Department workers viewed passport applications
> containing personal information about high-profile Americans, including the
> late Playboy playmate Anna Nicole Smith, at least 20 times since January
> 2007, The Associated Press has learned.