A hacker slipped into the servers of prison technology giant Securus Technologies and exposed thousands of potentially confidential records from law enforcement agencies across the United States, including in Minnesota, according to a technology website.
The compromised data included more than 2,800 user names, e-mail addresses, phone numbers, passwords and security questions — dating from 2011 to the present — of Securus law enforcement users. They were included in a spreadsheet that was shared by the hacker with Vice Motherboard. It was not immediately possible to independently verify the leak.
"Most of the users in the spreadsheet are from U.S. government bodies, including sheriff departments, local counties, and city law enforcement. Impacted cities include Minneapolis, Phoenix, Indianapolis, and many others," the website reported. Motherboard did not name the local affected agency in its May 16 report.
According to its website, Securus works with "more than 3,400 public safety, law enforcement and corrections agencies and over 1.2 million inmates across North America." Founded in 1986, the Dallas-based firm provides phone and video services for at least 18 detention centers in Minnesota — including the Hennepin and Ramsey county jails, as well as the Hennepin County workhouse — that also allow authorities to monitor both outgoing and incoming calls.
In Matt Ehling's mind, any breach raises questions about how a company handles data collection and privacy.
"As more and more systems, government and private systems, have been connected up to the internet, you just see more and more of these problems occur," said Ehling, executive director of Public Record Media.
Under a state law adopted several years ago, companies and government agencies are required to notify consumers of all data breaches, he added.
Locally, officials downplayed the apparent breach.
