Government Technology - July 2008 - (Page 23)

ANDY OPSAHL | FEATURES EDITOR PERSONAL INFORMATION CONTAINED IN PUBLIC DOCUMENTS RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT WHETHER THOSE DOCUMENTS SHOULD APPEAR ONLINE. DANGEROUS CONVENIENCE to search the records for citizens requesting them in-person. Most governments expect to address the problem through software designed to remove SSNs from online documents. But the process — known as redacting — isn’t foolproof; the technology options remain rather crude. Furthermore, state and local agencies struggle to fund redaction projects, which can include a huge number of online documents. At this point, several governments have completed redaction projects, but many still lack concrete starting plans. In 2002, Virginia resident Betty Ostergren learned that her local circuit court clerk was about to put her mortgage documents online, which included her signature. Ostergren’s documents didn’t contain her SSN because they were ﬁled prior to the 1990s — when nearby lenders began requiring SSNs. However, the thought of an identity thief lifting her signature from the Internet infuriated her. She created the Web site, www.TheVirginia Watchdog.com, aimed at exposing state and local government agencies publishing SSNs, signatures and other personal information online. To draw attention to her crusade, Ostergren found the SSNs of public ﬁgures and agency leaders and posted them on her Web site. The strategy motivated several local agencies to redact SSNs. She posted the SSNs of public ﬁgures, such as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, former Secretary of State Colin Powell, and celebrities Kelly Ripa, Joe Namath and Troy Aikman. Numerous national media outlets publicized Ostergren’s efforts. Public outcry followed and prompted promises from agencies to redact SSNs. ost IT workers in state and local government know the cliché that asserts citizens should be “online” rather than “in line” when attaining government services. But many of them contend citizens should be “in line” when accessing some types of public information. Numerous states offer Web access to public records, such as uniform commercial code (UCC) documents, tax liens, divorce decrees, death certiﬁcates and many others. These documents frequently contain Social Security numbers (SSNs), mothers’ maiden names, signatures, minors’ names and other red meat for identity thieves and stalkers. The Internet is forcing state and local governments to re-evaluate how they handle public information. Agencies are attempting to balance privacy concerns with the convenience and efﬁciency of online public documents. Public and private organizations increasingly rely on Webbased public document services. For instance, title companies say they would need to raise prices if their employees were forced to stand in line to research land records, and circuit court ofﬁces would need to hire legions of workers M Social Security Surprise Circuit courts and secretaries of state nationwide offer online public document databases that publish SSNs. You can often ﬁnd them in UCC documents, tax liens and other property records. Most states began offering these documents online between 1999 and 2001. Title companies research them to verify ownership and collect other information necessary for real estate transactions. 23 http://www.TheVirginiaWatchdog.com http://www.TheVirginiaWatchdog.com http://www.govtech.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Government Technology - July 2008

Government Technology - July 2008 Point of View The Last Mile Big Picture On the Scene Four Questions for ... Generation 2.0 at Work Dangerous Convenience Tainted Justice? Are You Ready? E-Discovery Basics Smart Docs Advanced Math Online Video Blues Spectrum Personal Computing Products signal:noise

Government Technology - July 2008

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