April 10, 2007

Privacy Advocate Threatens to Post Prominent Individuals' Data

A privacy advocate Friday threatened to publicly post on her Web site the names of prominent individuals in Massachusetts whose Social Security numbers and other personal data she was able to pull from public records posted on the commonwealth secretary of state's Web site. In addition, Betty "B.J." Ostergren said detailed instructions will be provided on her site telling others how to access the data from the site. Ostergren, a Virginia-based privacy advocate, runs a Web site called The Virginia Watchdog, which she uses to draw attention to -- and put pressure on -- county and state government officials who post unredacted public records online.

Privacy Advocate Targets Massachusetts Web Site, PC World, April 8, 2007.