Privacy and Public Records

The new source of power is not money in the hands of the few but information in the hands of many. -John Naisbitt

A public record is a document created or stored by a government in the course of its business. One of the world’s oldest professions, archivology began about 5,000 years ago in the fertile crescent of Mesopotamia. Recorded papyrus deeds for sales and gifts of valuable property existed in Egypt during the 3^rd Dynasty of the Pharaohs (3,000- 4,000 b.c.). It proved to be a useful profession; consequently as Western civilization unfolded, so did the role of the public records.

Though the lineage of archivology continued virtually unbroken throughout the millennia, extensive public record-keeping is largely a product of the 20th century. Much of the information collected by the private sector comes from public records and personal information held by the government. For example, beginning in the 20th century, advertisers began using census data as a marketing device. In 1970, the United States began selling its census data on magnetic tapes. Often at the behest of marketers, the Census Bureau increasingly sought data about people’s lifestyles. As of now, billions of records of demographic data have been compiled and utilized to create today’s robust economy. Many transactions depend on open access to public records for their successful completion- credit card applications, real estate transactions, business to business transactions, employment verification, fraud detection, etc.

What may be available as a public record?

• Property and tax records
• Birth and death certificates
• Motor vehicle information
• Court files and records
• Military discharge information

These public records have been available to everyone for decades but you had to go to a government office to see them. Modern business practices demand online access to public records to satisfy the needs of the marketplace and many of the 3,600 or so county governments are posting sensitive data online.

The way privacy protection is being addressed in the public sector is through redaction. Right now county governments in California, New Jersey, Florida, Texas, and Washington among other states, are redacting Social Security numbers and personally identifiable information from public records being posted online. use redaction software, which digitally erases information. It can be tailored to excise nine-digit entries such as SSNs.

As I was quoted in this month’s Computerworld magazine, (http://www.computerworld.com/securitytopics/security/privacy/story/0,10801,110453,00.html)

“There’s a real need to keep the information flowing,” Wesley said, adding that while there’s a real need to protect data “at all costs,” there’s little evidence so far that the public availability of personal information on government sites has contributed to identity theft. For most identity thieves, the effort involved in sifting through millions of public records for sensitive information is simply not worth I”, she said.