Alan C. Posted February 28, 2013 Posted February 28, 2013 Audit finds common misuse of Minnesota driver data Eighty-eight law enforcement personnel misused their access to driver’s license records in the last fiscal year, state auditors said Wednesday in a wide-ranging report [PDF] pushing for better oversight of the database. The review by the state’s legislative auditor — highly anticipated by legislators and privacy advocates — said officers need better training in allowed uses of the protected data, and local and state agencies should do more to monitor use. Beyond 88 incidents of misuse documented in state records last year, auditors found even more suspicious activity buried in audit trails. More than half of the 11,000 law enforcement users of the Driver and Vehicle Services (DVS) website in that time frame queried themselves or people with the same last name, for example, or disproportionately searched for people of one sex. Auditors forwarded 78 names to DVS for further review. “We have a real problem. And we have to face it. And we have to address it,” Legislative Auditor Jim Nobles said. “Because this is really eroding people’s confidence [in the] willingness and ability of state government and local government to protect private data.” The report follows a number of high-profile breaches of the state’s DVS database, which contains photographs, addresses and driving records on Minnesotans with a license. That data is protected by state and federal law against unauthorized use. Better training will fix it.
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