Discussion: Data Firm Hired By RNC Accidentally Leaked Millions Of Voters' Personal Info

[tomanjeri]

The RNC is criminally negligent on a massive scale. I wonder if a voter rights class action lawsuit can be brought against them.

What is beyond debate in 2017 is the increasing inability to trust in the integrity of information technology systems, particularly at scale. As reliance on technology increases, so too grows the cyber risk surface; as more and more functions of life migrate onto digital platforms, more and more functions of life invite cyber risk. Beyond the almost limitless criminal applications of the exposed data for purposes of identity theft, fraud, and resale on the black market, the heft of the data and analytical power of the modeling could be applied to even more ambitious efforts - corporate marketing, spam, advanced political targeting. Any of these potential misuses of private information can be prevented, provided stakeholders obey a few simple precepts in collecting and storing data.

[fiftygigs]

The data leak contains a wealth of personal information on roughly 61 percent of the US population.

If a doctor “accidentally” leaves a scalpel in you, he or she is obligated to make restitution.

Why isn’t the same true here? Why should families bear the hassle and expense of identity theft caused by negligence?

[paulw]

The number says that there many non-Republican voters caught up in this “inadvertent” snafu.

I’m not sure it isn’t accidental. Plenty of people are really, really stupid about data security. (Not arguing either way, mind you)

And I can see, for example, someone in a Deep Red area compiling the list of all their neighbors who didn’t score high enough on the “Kill All the Gays/blacks/browns/jews” scale.

[leftcoaster]

I have a hard time believing that there was but one" accidental" leak. Gobs of information stored in one place is begging to be hacked or leaked. But with Republicans, it will be no harm no foul coz both dems and repubs were in the data base. This is a very big deal.

[bonvivant]

Under the AHCA, we’d probably get billed for the scalpel.

[cd]

sounds like time for a class action lawsuit, who’s in?

[charismatic]

I don’t think this was an accidental breach.

I think this was to provide cover for the theft of much of this data bey Russian agents.

Now instead of there being collusion with the Russians, there is plausible deniability that this was stolen by the Russians by this accidental leak.

[tiowally]

They only hire the best people.

[bankerpup]

I’m sure none of it was gathered in violation of privacy laws. And that no one is going to use it to target people. Oh, wait.

Vast amounts of personal data have been legally collected on about 80% of US households for decades. The internet and social media have greatly expanded the data available. And targeting’s been part of the political playbook since Reagan.

After the 2020 census, all that data will be used to gerrymander districts.

[commiedearest]

Astute observation. The breast-beaters among us say we just didn’t appeal enough to the economic concerns of the Trump voters. It’s pretty clear that the Trump voters weren’t concerned economically, just racially, ethnically, and religiously bigoted.

[clemmers]

Last year I got a notice from a credit card company that there had been a data breach, exposing the personal information of millions of cardholders. Their compensatory action was to allow each cardholder to enroll in a credit monitoring program for free for 2 years.

The RNC and/or the contractor who exposed the personal data should be required to do no less.

[gajake]

Kind of a quandary for the NRA. Is it OK for R Party to collect personal information on gun owners, and sell it to Wal-Mart, Outdoor World, me, you, whoever? Do they condemn the R Party for leaking all that gun owner data to anyone who knows where it is? We know they sure don’t want the government to have this data. But, what if the NRA get what they seem to want and the government and the R Party become one and same thing? Is it OK for the R State to have this data?

[dickweed]

Data Firm Hired By RNC “Accidentally” Leaked Millions Of Voters’ Personal Info

Slight correction to the headline…you’re welcome…

[jquas2sunset]

So if we find our information within this database that was accessible, then could an American sue based on PII disclosure?

If not then the question I would ask the court is, why can an american not sue a company for the unauthorized disclosure of PII, when that disclosure leaves them vulnerable to a variety of crimes, the least of which is identity theft.

[ronbyers]

Any bets as to whether this is a big or little story?

[dnl]

OOPS

[tsp]

Any bets as to whether this is a big or little story?

Little. The House Oversight Committee will do nothing to investigate one of their own.

[dnl]

Depends on how the Dems can be implicated in any way…Oh! wait ------no implications needed.

[snafubar]

It’s ok if they’re our jackbooted thugs.

[sparrowhawk]

Don’t worry. Eventually he’ll pass out and the autonomic nervous system will take over and he’ll start breathing again and so long as he’s not underwater (or in a vacuum), everything will be fine.