Thousands of the New York City Police at Risk of Identity Theft

The New York City police will have a special interest in this data breach. It impacts upon them. Approximately eighty thousand (80,000) former and current members of the police department are at risk of identity theft:

“…According to local media reports, a man has been arrested and charged with illegally entering a data warehouse in the borough of Staten Island and stealing an unencrypted storage cassette belonging to the department’s pension fund office.”

link: New York Police Department loses as many as 80,000 records

It is staggering why this sensitive information was not encrypted. This security breach not only places the sensitive information and financial data of police department personnel at risk. With such confidential information, it would be simple to ascertain residence and other sensitive data. The security breach impacts far more than just identity theft.

Catherine Forsythe