Jan 6 Commission leaks SS#s
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Nice job, guys.
Social Security numbers of Trump officials, allies posted in Jan. 6 files
When the House Jan. 6 committee wrapped up its work in recent weeks, it posted hundreds of records online, including interview transcripts, audio recordings and text messages.
Also buried in the massive cache was a spreadsheet with nearly 2,000 Social Security numbers associated with visitors to the White House in December 2020, including at least three members of Trump’s Cabinet, a few Republican governors and numerous Trump allies.
While the spreadsheet with the numbers was taken down Wednesday, the high-profile nature of the people whose data was exposed probably puts them at an “elevated risk” because the information would be especially useful to intelligence agencies, said James Lee, chief operating officer of the Identity Theft Resource Center, a nonprofit organization that advises victims of identity crimes and compromises.
Lee recommended that people listed follow common tips for victims of identity crimes, including freezing their credit, using a multi-factor authentication app for their online accounts and setting up credit and account monitoring.
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Exposed individuals don’t appear to have been notified about the leak. The Government Publishing Office (GPO), which originally published the file, did not respond to a request for comment on whether it planned to notify people whose Social Security numbers were exposed.
“To my knowledge, we were not notified. The governor was not notified,” said Ian Fury, a spokesman for South Dakota Gov. Kristi L. Noem (R). Social Security numbers were listed alongside the names of Noem, her husband and her three children.
In a letter posted on Twitter after publication, an attorney representing Noem asked the White House, Government Publishing Office, National Archives and Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), who chaired the committee, to provide a detailed accounting of “how the breach of privacy occurred, who was responsible, what steps each of you has taken to remedy the breach, and what specific measures and remedies will be taken to protect Governor Noem and her family in light of the public dissemination of their private information and the heightened risk for identity theft and and other future privacy violations.”
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If you take George’s verb choice at face value, then yes. If you read the piece you’ll hear that it was inadvertent. That certainly seems most likely, given the scope and scale of the breech.
Presumably there will be an investigation.
@jon-nyc said in Jan 6 Commission leaks SS#s:
If you read the piece you’ll hear that it was inadvertent.
It probably was just that - careless.
Edit to add: Whenever I was sued and had to give a deposition, my attorney told me never to use the word "inadvertent." People take it to mean careless. Say "accidental" instead.
