Unintentional leak of visitor contact details to incarcerated individuals at a Florida prison through email
In a concerning turn of events, a data breach at the Everglades Correctional Institution (ECI) has left the personal information of thousands of visitors vulnerable. The incident, which occurred on July 24, 2023, saw a staff member inadvertently email the contact details of visitors—including names, home addresses, emails, and phone numbers—to every inmate at the facility, accessible via secure tablets and kiosks [1][2].
The Florida Department of Corrections has acknowledged the breach but has yet to provide detailed information about the steps they are taking to address the situation or prevent future incidents [3]. This lack of transparency has led to public and advocacy group criticism, with families of visitors expressing concerns over potential extortion, harassment, and threats [1][2].
Advocacy groups like Florida Cares have urged the Department to discontinue the visitor information registration process due to the risks it poses [1]. Families, particularly women, are voicing their fears, with individuals like Jan Thompson expressing concerns about potential extortion and Patrice Kelly, who has a history of dealing with a stalker, worried about her digital footprint falling into the wrong hands [1].
This data breach is not an isolated incident. In the UK, news of sensitive data being leaked by official sources via email has become semi-frequent, with instances reported in the Police Service of Northern Ireland and various other organisations [4]. In a separate incident, a major data heist affected 1.4 million customers of Allianz Life [5].
In the Police Service of Northern Ireland, an employee's mistake led to the leak of nearly 10,000 staff members' personal information in August 2023 [6]. The review into the incident revealed that the organisation's welfare services were stretched, and an undisclosed number of officers relocated out of safety concerns [6].
As the Everglades Correctional Institution and the Florida Department of Corrections work to address the data breach, affected visitors and advocates are calling for systemic changes to protect privacy and safety [1][3]. The incident serves as a reminder of the importance of safeguarding personal information in the digital age.
[1] https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/florida-prison-data-breach-exposes-visitor-information-inmates-n1346628 [2] https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/29/us/florida-prison-data-breach/index.html [3] https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/08/03/florida-prison-data-breach-visitor-information/ [4] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60830136 [5] https://www.cnbc.com/2023/06/10/allianz-life-data-breach-affects-14-million-customers.html [6] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-60943542
- The concern over data security in both data-and-cloud-computing and general-news has grown, as the AI technology era unfolds, with incidents like the data breach at the Everglades Correctional Institution, where thousands of visitors' personal data were exposed.
- The Florida Department of Corrections' handling of the data breach has sparked criticism from advocacy groups like Florida Cares, who demand systemic changes to enhance privacy and security, especially in delicate matters such as crime-and-justice.
- As data-and-cloud-computing continues to play a significant role in modern life, high-profile incidents, such as the data heist at Allianz Life and the email leak in the Police Service of Northern Ireland, emphasize the need for stringent security measures to protect personal data and prevent crimes like extortion and harassment.
