Alabama Licensure Board for Interpreters and Transliterators Exposes 225
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 15, 2007Media Contact: Aaron Titus
(202) 669-2969
MONTGOMERY, Alabama. On October 15 and 27, 2007 the Liberty Coalition discovered several Excel files on the Alabama Licensure Board for Interpreters and Transliterators' website, which contain sensitive personal information of more than 225 licensed translators. The files contain application information, full names, dates of birth, a few social security numbers, addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, employer information, and a other information. By posting this information online, the State of Alabama has put some of these individuals at high risk of identity theft.
The Liberty Coalition notified Paula Scout McCaleb, Executive Director, Shonda McQueen, Licensing Agent, the Alabama State Attorney General, and the FBI about this breach. Where possible, we also notified several individuals directly. The files were deleted within two days, or two weeks, depending on the file. Since that time, the Alabama Licensure Board for Interpreters and Transliterators continues to publish the names of licensees, but only their names, license numbers and expiration dates. It is unfortunate that the Board did not such have a privacy policy prior to this incident.
Individuals affected by this exposure should immediately visit www.nationalidwatch.org and search for their names, to confirm what types of personal information were exposed. NationalIDWatch.org has a list of recommended steps victims should take.
About NationalIDWatch.org
National ID Watch is a search engine for personal information breaches. Sponsored by the Washington, DC non-profit Liberty Coalition, NationalIDWatch.org provides more than a million free personalized Identity Exposure Reports™ as a public service.
Each Identity Exposure Report (IXR) documents what types of personal information were exposed (such as Social Security Numbers, Birth Dates, Addresses, etc.), without revealing them. Each IXR also details the situation surrounding each exposure, and contact information of those responsible for the breach. Armed with this information, victims can further investigate, take action, or correct harm.