If your Social Security number was among the more than 5,500 lost in Dallas by an Oklahoma Employment Security Commission employee last month, there’s a chance the state may lend a hand if the precious data falls into the wrong hands.
Then again, they may not.
The following is part of a brief statement released by the OESC on Wednesday:
“If a person has a claim against the agency, it may fall under the Governmental Tort Claims Act that is administered by the Risk Management division of the Oklahoma Department of Central Services.”
The statement went on to urge any parties who feel they’ve been victimized because of the lost Social Security numbers to call the Risk Management Division at 521-4999 or the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office.
“In a nutshell, each situation is different,” said John Carpenter, spokesman for the OESC. “If a person has a claim, it will be looked at on an individual basis.”
The 5,534 Social Security numbers were on an unprotected flash drive apparently misplaced by an OESC employee who was in Dallas attending a work-related conference some time around March 16, when the drive was reported missing by the employee. The data on the flash drive, consisting of Social Security numbers and personal earnings information, was not encrypted, was not password-protected and was accessible to anybody with Microsoft Excel on their computer, Carpenter confirmed last week.
The employee who lost the flash drive, Carpenter said has since been disciplined but not terminated. He was named in a letter sent around March 25 to the 82 Shawnee-area companies whose data was compromised.
Carpenter also said last week that he couldn’t recall an incident like this happening before at the agency and that the OESC has since formed a committee to look at ways to improve security and further protect the personal data of the people they serve.
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Andrew Knittle may be reached at 214-3926.
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If your Social Security number was among the more than 5,500 lost in Dallas by an Oklahoma Employment Security Commission employee last month, there’s a chance the state may lend a hand if the precious data falls into the wrong hands.
Then again, they may not.
The following is part of a brief statement released by the OESC on Wednesday:
“If a person has a claim against the agency, it may fall under the Governmental Tort Claims Act that is administered by the Risk Management division of the Oklahoma Department of Central Services.”
The statement went on to urge any parties who feel they’ve been victimized because of the lost Social Security numbers to call the Risk Management Division at 521-4999 or the Oklahoma Attorney General’s office.
“In a nutshell, each situation is different,” said John Carpenter, spokesman for the OESC. “If a person has a claim, it will be looked at on an individual basis.”
The 5,534 Social Security numbers were on an unprotected flash drive apparently misplaced by an OESC employee who was in Dallas attending a work-related conference some time around March 16, when the drive was reported missing by the employee. The data on the flash drive, consisting of Social Security numbers and personal earnings information, was not encrypted, was not password-protected and was accessible to anybody with Microsoft Excel on their computer, Carpenter confirmed last week.
The employee who lost the flash drive, Carpenter said has since been disciplined but not terminated. He was named in a letter sent around March 25 to the 82 Shawnee-area companies whose data was compromised.
Carpenter also said last week that he couldn’t recall an incident like this happening before at the agency and that the OESC has since formed a committee to look at ways to improve security and further protect the personal data of the people they serve.
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Andrew Knittle may be reached at 214-3926.
