Jeb Bush exposed 13,000 social security numbers. Here's where they were hiding

[TheNutcracker]

by
Robert Hackett
February 13, 2015, 12:31 PM EST

With transparency in mind, the former Florida governor released his email correspondence from his term in office. With it: personally identifiable information of his constituents.
Earlier this week, former Florida governor Jeb Bush released online a cache of emails sent and received by his personal email address during his time in office. His attempt at transparency turned sour after it was realized that some emails contained personally identifiable information of Floridians, including social security numbers, names, and dates of birth.

Todd Feinman, CEO of data protection firm Identity Finder, ran an analysis of the data and determined that nearly 13,000 unique social security numbers were released. His software, which uses natural language processing to identify sensitive information through contextual clues, found that about 12,500 of those were contained in a spreadsheet embedded in a PowerPoint slide attached to an email dated October 2003.
Kristy Campbell, a spokesperson for Bush, could not confirm that number.

When Feinman and his team first inspected the heavily flagged email, they were unable to locate the data. Initially suspecting it might have been a bug in the code—they had just released a new version of their software—they eventually determined that the information was contained in so-called hidden Excel columns, obscured from view.
Bush’s email address, along with about 50 others (including aol.com and hotmail.com addresses), had been copied on that email. The spreadsheet in question, as the AP reports, concerned “tracking the number of people on a state family service waiting list.” The relevant slide is titled, “Developmental Disabilities Home and Community-Based Waiver Waitlist Data.”

“We’ve redacted the emails that were brought to our attention that contained personally identifying information,” Campbell said. Bush’s team has also removed the downloadable archive, raw data “.pst” files. (Another site, americanbridgepac.org, which hosted the data since December, took the files down Thursday.)

There are, however, social security numbers represented in a non-standard format (e.g. not XXX-XX-XXXX) still visible on copies posted to the web on jebbushemails.com. Feinman estimates that there are 100 still publicly accessible.

A May letter obtained by Fortune shows that Bush’s attorney had asked the Florida Department of State to scrub sensitive information from the archive of [email protected], so that the emails could be released:

We hope these emails will be available permanently to the public, provided the records are first reviewed by state officials in accordance with with Florida Statute to ensure information exempt from public disclosure is redacted before release, including social security numbers of Florida citizens who contacted Governor Bush for assistance; personal identifying information related to victims of crime or abuse; confidential law enforcement intelligence; and other information made confidential or exempt by applicable law.

“Our site contains the public records made available by the State of Florida,” Campbell said. (Florida’s “sunshine law” opens up the records of public officials by request.)

“The Department of State is currently reviewing our process for redacting confidential information from documents given to the State Archives,” said Florida Department of State spokesperson Mark Ard.

http://fortune.com/2015/02/13/jeb-bush-social-security-numbers/
now let it be known, he's too stupid to be the president!

[TheNutcracker]

1. Kick to the greatest! He should be embarrassed!

[freshwest]

2. Targeting the indigent disabled for privateers. Nice job, Jeb. We knew you had it in you.

[Not Sure]

3. Too early and too subtle

Besides this gaffe occurring before he's even announced, unless there's video of him raping a goat, I'm afraid this isn't enough to discourage the morons who want him president. Exposure of somebody else's information isn't their problem.

In fact, this is the problem with how Democrats campaign: get worked up over actual issues instead of slinging mud and seeing what sticks (hint: something always sticks). We need someone not afraid to get hurt campaigning to go after these bastards. Short of that, the racist anti-Obama crowd and the Hilary-haters will drown out any truth injected into the coming campaign.

[Half-Century Man]

7. Some of them will blame the goat for provoking him.

"That silky coat, that salacious ribbon. The goat was asking for it".

[Kalidurga]

4. He's an idiot

therefore, I want him to run. I think he is too stupid to win. He has it in him to out Romney, Mitt Romney. Heck he might even be stupider than Palin maybe even stupider than his infamous brother.

[DeSwiss]

5. K&R

- If nations could get herpes, it'd be like having the Bushes......

[TheNutcracker]

10. right!!!!!

[vankuria]

11. Looks like he has a bugger

His PR people should've photo checked this pic!

[polynomial]

6. Bush is testing the legal domain

Bush is risking a class action law suit of perilous proportions. Bush now acting as a common citizen publishing that data base which is personal private communication with constituents.

When I send a letter to my Senator, and or his case worker team, I expect my email is secure with confidence my message is personal and private, likely needing a solution by government help not to be treated as a public document unless by my endorsement.

Or is Bush doing what Bush does best, in a presorted way to create retribution and retaliation using his power arrogance and defiance resorting to blanket harassment.

From my view those emails, this type of privacy is similar to the attorney client privilege.

Or the doctor patient privilege, or consider the sanctuary privilege between a priest and parishioner.

Actually, Bush as a citizen in a position to take a data base without an individual’s permission with the governments coupled endorsement reflects the same arrogance and defiance Snowden acted with stealing records of secret documents. Bush broke the law.

Jeb Bush committed a felony. A serious crime, and the legal professions, the media, and the general public let him get away with it. Just like George his brother is a thief, scamming your tax money, commit banking fraud, lying to profiteer with phony wars with the Nazi and Al Qaeda, and, Isis, now likely your identity is presorted for retribution and retaliation.

When is the general public going to understand this Bush family is psychotic political freqazoids in severe mental disorders that cause abnormal thinking and perceptions, similarly as are their fiends the Bin Laden Arabs who support Isis or Al Qaeda.

The media covering up this horrible American wart, it is worse than a virus epidemic.

[GeorgeGist]

8. The Bush touch.

[TheNutcracker]

9. It time again for TooStupidToBePresident.com....remember that site?

This is an oversight that should not go beyond a minimum wage administrative worker. But someone looking to be the president and looking for the trust of all the American people?

Now he says he won't talk about past wars, either, which is definitely a part of the process. Just a joyful campaign he says.

Is this sheer stupidity or arrogance?