| Page 3 of 3 < |
A Matter Of Public Record
For Betty Ostergren, the solution to protecting privacy is simple: Keep public records public, but don't put them online.
(By Jay Paul For The Washington Post)
TOOLBOX
   Resize
COMMENT
 Discussion Policy
 CLOSE
Comments that include profanity or personal attacks or other inappropriate comments or material will be removed from the site. Additionally, entries that are unsigned or contain "signatures" by someone other than the actual author will be removed. Finally, we will take steps to block users who violate any of our posting standards, terms of use or privacy policies or any other policies governing this site. Please review the full rules governing commentaries and discussions. You are fully responsible for the content that you post.
Who's Blogging  |
Foglesong and others are pinning their hopes on technology.
Companies that mine data often boast that they can use software to collect individual pieces of data from images of documents that are posted online. Similar technology can be used to mask certain data.
But many in the industry are pessimistic that nationally, sufficient resources will be available.
"It's probably going to be a county-by-county undertaking, as record custodians are able to convince local administrators that this is worthy of taxpayer dollars," said Mark Ladd, a former register of deeds in Wisconsin who works on privacy issues for the Property Records Industry Association.
Ostergren sees the solution in more simple terms: Keep public records public, but don't put them online.
"If you want to go snooping in my records, you drive to the courthouse," Ostergren said. Most identity thieves, she reasons, will neither take the time nor want to be seen.
In the meantime, she pursues her guerrilla campaign.
Her formula is simple: Target a county, locate personal data on hundreds of residents, send them letters telling them how much of their personal information is or might be exposed online, and urge them to pressure their local officials.
"I thought it was the most ludicrous thing I had ever heard of," said Mary Guest, recalling her reaction when she got a letter from Ostergren while living in Front Royal a couple of years ago. When she found out it was true, Guest -- whose husband had been in the Virginia House of Delegates before he died -- began pressing Warren County officials not to post records online, which they so far have not done.
When Ostergren finds a well-known figure, she decides whether exposing his or her number on her Virginia Watchdog Web site might further her cause.
Which is how she came to link to Jeb Bush's Social Security number.
She notified him through someone she knew in the administration of President Bush. Soon after, she noticed that the governor's number was blacked out on the county Web site in Florida where it was listed. So she posted it on her site.
"I decided since he protected his own hind end and nobody else's, I'd put his on there," she said.
