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 On August 14, the
IDOC discovered that the names, job ranks/positions, salaries and
social security numbers of more than 1,000 employees were
inadvertently transmitted in a FOIA request that was released to a
private citizen. We immediately notified the affected employees and
took steps to ensure that their identities and credit would not be
further breached. Each of them will be offered free credit
monitoring services.
As a result of the data release, we launched an internal
investigation and discovered that the private citizen who requested
the information was doing so on behalf of an IDOC inmate. The error
was discovered after the civilian mailed the response to the inmate.
Mailroom staff intercepted the package during a routine inspection
of incoming mail. The documents were immediately secured in the
facility vault.
We interviewed the inmate who was the intended recipient of the
information and conducted a search of the inmate’s cell. No employee
information was discovered in the cell. We also reviewed the
inmate’s recent phone conversations, which did not reveal any
discussions about obtaining employee social security numbers.
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Our staff interviewed the
civilian who issued the FOIA request for the names, ranks, and salaries of
employees who worked at Dixon and Lawrence Correctional Centers during Fiscal
Year 15. The civilian stated that he never looked at the multi-page FOIA
response and was unaware that it contained personal information. He agreed to a
polygraph test and tested truthful to the above statements.
Preliminary findings suggest that human error led to the information being
released without redaction or a full review. We are conducting a full audit of
our FOIA unit and will implement streamlined procedures to prevent further
inadvertent disclosures.
[Text from file received] |
