Comptroller error opens personal information of millions to the public

The sensitive data of members of three different state agencies had been accessible to the public by a Texas comptroller for nearly a year, according to the Austin Business Journal. Data files from 1.2 million employees in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, 2 million individuals in the Texas Workforce Commission and 281,000 individuals in the Employees Retirement System of Texas were all publicly disclosed on an industry server by mistake in early 2010. The personal data, such as mailing addresses, Social Security numbers, dates of birth and driver's license numbers were sent to the comptroller's office by law as part of the state's unclaimed property verification system. "I deeply regret the exposure of the personal information that occurred and am angry that it happened," Susan Combs, the comptroller in question, told the Austin Business Journal. "I want to reassure people that the information was sealed off from any public access immediately after the mistake was discovered." Texas Safeguard has created a website with information and an open phone line for those workers at potential risk for identity theft. It explains the incident, provides information on what to do if a worker's privacy was affected and mentions that a notification letter was sent out to exposed individuals.