MIAMI, Florida. South Florida Workforce, a job and career services organization, posted the names and personal information of 43 of its participants on its website. The Liberty Coalition discovered an Excel file posted on a public document sharing site containing an internal trouble ticket log with 43 names and the last four digits of social security numbers. Three of the participants’ names and full social security numbers were exposed. Businesses extend credit based upon the last four digits of the social security number, and some financial institutions use it as a password, making it an extremely sensitive piece of information. By placing this information online, South Florida Workforce has put these individuals at increased risk of identity theft and other types of fraud.
According to the server, the file was placed online March 2, 2007. It appears to be clear from search engine caches as of January, 2008.
According to one employee, when a participant calls with a problem, South Florida Workforce routinely records that person’s name and Social Security Number in internal documentation. In this instance, some of that documentation was accidentally placed on a public website. The Liberty Coalition recommends that participants in South Florida Workforce immediately change their policy of using social security numbers to identify its participants.
You can confirm whether you were affected by this breach by searching for your name at www.ssnbreach.org.
About SSNBreach.org
SSNBreach.org is a free online directory of victims of personal information breach, that tells you whether your personal information has been exposed.
SSNBreach.org does NOT contain sensitive data, such as Social Security Numbers (SSN), Birth Dates, Addresses, and the like. Consequently, there is no way to search for your SSN or any other type of sensitive data on SSNBreach.org. Instead of storing sensitive information, we document what information was exposed, and the situation surrounding the breach. This information allows victims to further investigate, take action, or correct any harm from the exposure.