The state of Missouri is taking quick action after journalists in the state uncovered instances where resident Social Security Numbers were exposed through the state’s court case management system. The sensitive information was found by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which discovered that unredacted SSNs could be accessed through public access terminals and even the publicly available online court document repository, Casenet.
This discovery prompted Missouri’s Office of the State Courts Administrator to raise the security level of many documents so that they couldn’t be accessed via terminals or the internet. Currently, different types of documents carry different security requirements with those most likely to contain sensitive information being housed on access terminals versus online.
As of July 1st though, all newly filed court documents are set to be available online. This means that both the state and filers will need to be significantly more vigilant as access will be easier than ever. While the state has tried to protect sensitive information through levels of access, the responsibility for redacting data like social security numbers is the responsibility of those filing documents with the court.
Given the discovery of the information in these documents, the state court is trying to educate filers to improve the redaction process. This means not only specifically pointing to what information should be redacted, but also asking for a certification from prosecutors or defense attorneys that they’ve properly redacted information.
Not everything is the responsibility of the filer though, as county offices will need to enact redaction processes in advance of July as well. Previously, some county prosecutors had reported simply sending along police reports with defendants’ information unless they were a victim of domestic abuse. They recommend legislation that will require further redactions.
Meanwhile, some county courts in Missouri have been checking document requests for sensitive information and redacting them before they are released. Cole County Circuit Clerk Mark Eichholz said that most people looking for records interact with the clerk’s office so sensitive information is generally identified. The Post-Dispatch process didn’t involve interaction with the clerks which is why they were able to access the personal information. Regardless, it’s clear that the current process needs a change.
In Boone County, the clerks office will redact personal information from documents that are requested from public terminals, but there’s still a chance that people could look up sensitive information in older cases without actually printing out the documents. What’s concerning is that it seems that for older documents, this may still be an issue going forward. Boone County’s Circuit Clerk Christy Blakemore also said she expects some newer filings to contain sensitive information due to people being unfamiliar with the new processes.
With some prosecutors preparing to file both redacted and unredacted copies of their documents, there could be quite a bit more clerical work on the horizon. Given the importance of keeping this information secure, some offices are anticipating needing more administrative to ensure that everything is redacted properly.
Rather than looking for more staff, though, we recommend that county offices in need of shielding sensitive information use an automated redaction product like our software, ID Shield. Rather than have staff manually reading through documents, automation software can convert your digital image to text, identify where private information is present, where clues in the document indicate it might be, and can permanently and securely redact the data. If you’re interested in learning more about how this product works, please take a look at our redaction page.
About the Author: Chris Mack
Chris is a Marketing Manager at Extract with experience in product development, data analysis, and both traditional and digital marketing. Chris received his bachelor’s degree in English from Bucknell University and has an MBA from the University of Notre Dame. A passionate marketer, Chris strives to make complex ideas more accessible to those around him in a compelling way.