AllTheQuestions
New Member
Hello, and thank you for your time.
With all of the recent security breaches revolving around large corporations, the laws concerning how they are allowed to use customers' personal information and what steps they must take to prevent its theft have become a fairly common conversation topic. Recently though, I was presented with an alternate situation: what do you do in the case that an individual who happens to somehow obtain your private information decides to share it with the world, either through spite or negligence?
In this scenario, the means by which the individual obtained the information is unclear. They could have peeked over the victim's shoulder while they filled out a document requiring that information, bought the information from a third party, or perhaps they knew the individual well enough to know the information anyway (such as with a spouse or close sibling). However the information was obtained, it was then shared with a large number of people through some means, such as being posted to a public web site without the individual's consent.
The information contained in this scenario includes SSN, first and last name, the full name of the person's mother and father (as well as mother's maiden name), and current address.
It is important to note that, in this example, the individual who posted the information did not directly use the information to receive any financial benefit or to open an account themselves; they simply put it in a place where it could be very easily and quickly discovered by anyone who might want to use the information maliciously. The poster did not obtain consent from the victim, and it is clear (by where the information was displayed or by the poster's own statements) that this person is the one who displayed the information to the public. In this scenario, the victim has suffered from identity theft multiple times since the information was made public.
I have begun to hear 'horror stories' lately about people who have had such things happen to them, but I am never able to find out what the resolution of the case was. It feels personally as though there should be, but are there actually any legal repercussions for someone who reveals another person's information to a large audience but does not profit from it? Everything I have found so far is either second-hand or neglects to include this information.
Sources as well as any links to further information about this topic would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
With all of the recent security breaches revolving around large corporations, the laws concerning how they are allowed to use customers' personal information and what steps they must take to prevent its theft have become a fairly common conversation topic. Recently though, I was presented with an alternate situation: what do you do in the case that an individual who happens to somehow obtain your private information decides to share it with the world, either through spite or negligence?
In this scenario, the means by which the individual obtained the information is unclear. They could have peeked over the victim's shoulder while they filled out a document requiring that information, bought the information from a third party, or perhaps they knew the individual well enough to know the information anyway (such as with a spouse or close sibling). However the information was obtained, it was then shared with a large number of people through some means, such as being posted to a public web site without the individual's consent.
The information contained in this scenario includes SSN, first and last name, the full name of the person's mother and father (as well as mother's maiden name), and current address.
It is important to note that, in this example, the individual who posted the information did not directly use the information to receive any financial benefit or to open an account themselves; they simply put it in a place where it could be very easily and quickly discovered by anyone who might want to use the information maliciously. The poster did not obtain consent from the victim, and it is clear (by where the information was displayed or by the poster's own statements) that this person is the one who displayed the information to the public. In this scenario, the victim has suffered from identity theft multiple times since the information was made public.
I have begun to hear 'horror stories' lately about people who have had such things happen to them, but I am never able to find out what the resolution of the case was. It feels personally as though there should be, but are there actually any legal repercussions for someone who reveals another person's information to a large audience but does not profit from it? Everything I have found so far is either second-hand or neglects to include this information.
Sources as well as any links to further information about this topic would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
