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Officials in Dallas County are urgently working to assess the scope of a potentially vast data breach that occurred after the sale of thousands of computers at an auction. Many of these devices retained sensitive personal information and were used by the sheriff’s department, housing critical data from the county’s internal Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS). This digital database contains crucial information related to criminal cases and is regularly accessed by judges, defense attorneys, and prosecutors.
Sheriff Marian Brown expressed her disappointment over this security lapse and emphasized the unacceptability of violating CJIS regulations in today’s information-driven era. Although the sheriff’s department did not address specific inquiries about the data breach, Brown assured that her office would collaborate with the Dallas County Information Technology Department to hold those responsible accountable. Melissa Kraft, Dallas County’s Chief Information Officer, was not available for immediate comment.
Personal Information at Risk as Thousands of Computers Sold with Sensitive Data
There is currently no information on the exact number of devices affected, whether other departments’ data may have been compromised, or where the computers were sold. The date of the computer auction has also not been disclosed. Jasmyn Carter, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s department, informed that the department is in the process of notifying the Texas Department of Public Safety, as required by law.
As the situation continues to unfold, County Judge Clay Lewis Jenkins and District Attorney John Creuzot have refrained from commenting. However, Creuzot expressed his concern over the potential consequences of sensitive information being leaked. Sheriff Brown’s statement revealed that computers from other county departments had also been auctioned off.
County staff has informed the sheriff’s department that measures are being implemented to address the situation. Additional concerns have arisen about the lack of proper encryption on some computers still in use by the
county to protect criminal justice information. Jasmyn Carter stated that Dallas County’s IT staff had informed Sheriff Brown about ongoing efforts to rectify the encryption issues on the current department computers.
Sheriff’s Department’s Criminal Justice Information System Compromised
This data breach in Dallas County is not an isolated incident of mishandling criminal justice data in the region. The Dallas Morning News recently reported that at least 13 homicide cases involving the Dallas police could be jeopardized after the permanent deletion of video evidence from potentially hundreds of murder investigations dating back to 2016. Deputy City Manager Jon Fortune shared this information with the City Council’s public safety committee earlier in the month.
An internal audit conducted in November revealed that the police failed to categorize 89,000 videos, equivalent to 2% of the total videos stored on servers since 2016. The improper storage of digital files on the platform could result in their deletion, as reported by The News. This incident follows another data mishap involving the Dallas police, where an accidental deletion in 2021 led to the loss of 20 terabytes of data.
As investigations continue, Dallas County officials are working diligently to understand the full extent of the data breach, implement necessary measures to mitigate the situation, and ensure that those responsible are held accountable. The county’s focus will also be on rectifying encryption issues to protect sensitive criminal justice information and prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.
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