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U.S. SENATOR PATRICK
LEAHY
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CONTACT: Office of Senator
Leahy, 202-224-4242 |
VERMONT |
Reaction Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),
Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee,
To Loss Of Government Officials’ Account Information
From Bank Of America
February 25, 2005
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Loss Of Government Officials’ Credit Card Data From Bank
Of America
…Leahy: Loss Of Account Information Underscores
Troubling Trend Of Data Trafficking
[(WASHINGTON, Friday, Feb. 25) -- A longtime champion of the public’s
privacy rights, Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the ranking member of the
Senate Judiciary Committee, Friday said the revelation that U.S. Senate
credit card information was among the government credit information lost
during transport between Bank of America facilities may help focus
Congress’ attention on the growing problem of personal data security and
identity theft. Bank officials announced Friday that the bank had lost
several tapes containing the credit card information of government accounts
for U.S. senators. The news comes on the heels of another breach
involving ChoicePoint Inc., a private company in Atlanta that is one of
several businesses that have emerged as large-scale personal and financial
information brokers. These brokers collect massive amounts of data on
virtually every American, including Social Security numbers and financial
information, and then sell that data to employers, marketers and the
government, among other clients. Earlier this month, ChoicePoint
acknowledged selling the personal information of 145,000 Americans to
criminals posing as legitimate businesses. Following ChoicePoint’s
announcement, Leahy called for a series of hearings before the Judiciary
Committee to examine the privacy, security and civil liberty implications
of recent information technology trends, including the creation of digital
dossiers on individuals and the sale of personal data. Judiciary Committee
Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) has agreed to Leahy’s request for hearings.
Below is Leahy’s reaction to Bank of America’s announcement.]
UPDATE: Credit Card Data That Was Lost Belonged
To Staffer
(Monday, Feb. 28) On Monday, Senate officials notified the office of
Senator Patrick Leahy that the credit card account information compromised
by Bank of America’s loss of data tapes belonged to a staff member in
Leahy’s Washington, DC office. Last Friday, Senate officials had informed
Leahy’s office that the Senator’s account information was affected by the
loss of tapes, but further information revealed the account belonged to a
staffer. Other government accounts, including the credit card
accounts of some U.S. senators, were also affected, according to officials.
Below is Senator Leahy’s statement on the loss of the tapes, originally
released Friday.
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“This is becoming an alarming and all-to-familiar story for many
Americans in our increasingly digital world. The wholesale loss of
vast treasure troves of personal information is a new type of problem that
requires us to fundamentally rethink how we approach data security and
privacy, because when our current methods fail these days, the damage can
reach, each time, into a thousand or even a million American lives.
“I hope this latest incident at least will bring the issue closer to
home so Congress will pay better attention to the rapid erosion of privacy
rights that ordinary Americans are facing as more and more of their
personal and financial information is collected and sold on data bases that
too often have too few privacy protections.
“The emergence of big-scale data dealers has made way for trafficking of
the most personal information to almost anyone who wants to buy it,
including governments, and the collateral damage is the steady erosion of
Americans’ privacy. This episode also suggests the need for greater
care and accountability on the part of the businesses that have access to
Americans’ personal information.
“I am pleased that Chairman Specter has agreed to my request that the
Senate Judiciary Committee look into this troubling trend. These are
concerns that are central to our way of life. It will be a difficult
job to thoroughly sort through these issues, yet we need to continue to do
the hard work to reach well-considered solutions that are effective and
balanced.”
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