Greg Abbott’s Privacy Hypocrisy
In a transparent pander to Republican ideologues and Tea Party extremists, Greg Abbott is attempting to raise the specter that Texans personal information could be vulnerable if they enroll in a healthcare plan as part of the public health exchange required under the Affordable Care Act.
Abbott claimed to the Austin American Statesman that he is,
deeply concerned about privacy and the security of this very sensitive information."
Greg Abbott failed, however, to disclose that he is responsible for one of the biggest data breaches in Texas history. His incompetence exposed the social security numbers of over 6 million Texans, leaving them vulnerable to potential identify theft.
Heres what happened:
·During litigation last year on the Texas Voter ID Bill, Abbott bungled a court order requiring him to send voter records to opposing legal counsel. Abbott failed to redact the personal social security numbers of at least 6 million Texas voters included in the surrendered records.
·Had it not been for the diligence, competence and integrity of Abbotts opposing legal counsel, the records might have been sent to a commercial data center to be formatted for use in trial, thus making them vulnerable to unscrupulous individuals who could have sold the records to identity thieves.
·The Lone Star Project broke the story on Abbotts bungle. The Houston Chronicle and other news outlets confirmed Abbott didn't know the breach had occurred until being informed by opposing attorneys for the Democratic plaintiffs.
Source: http://lonestarproject.net/greg-abbott%E2%80%99s-privacy-hypocrisy