Mommas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be County Clerks
At first blush, it seems that an emergency bill in Texas that exempts clerks from state and Federal law about data breaches is a bad thing.
However, with closer reading, it looks more like a correction for that pesky old law of unintended consequences. On 23 Feb, the Texas Attorney General ruled that disclosing Social Security Numbers violated state and Federal law punishable by jail time.
This means that the poor county clerks, who are tasked with redacting records, would be left holding the bag for any screwups. If I were such a clerk, not having some sort of protection would lead to my resignation.
I’m left wondering how we’re going to ensure that things get done correctly, but the larger issue is the way the government is reacting. I know that I speak for The President when I say that not everything that’s bad and needs to stop has to have jail time and fines on it.
It looks like the pendulum of breach control is swinging a bit wildly in Austin. Just go to SXSW, guys, have a beer, listen to some music, and be stable on this. Thanks for working to get this right.
“Grandma Abilene” courtesy of Curran Andre Hugo.