[rewrite.cgi?page=referrer&referrer=unknown&javascript=false&Log=0] UPDATED: 6 :27 a.m. CDT, August 29, 2008 New Orleans, LA, Hot 80° F • Complete Forecast | Homepage | Site Index | RSS Feeds | About Us | Contact Us | Advertise [nolalogo_242x90.gif] [lg_mag_glass.gif] SEARCH: ____________________ [gosearch_button.gif]-Submit NEWS SPORTS FORUMS BLOGS CAMS ENTERTAINMENT MORE TOPICS JOBS AUTOS REAL ESTATE CLASSIFIEDS NOLA.com - The Times-Picayune Masthead Text • Subscribe • Today's Paper & More PRINT EDITION More Stories • Guard to help protect homes • Insurance Dept. prepares for storm • Those who need help to leave can call • More Headlines MULTIMEDIA Photos [photo.gif] • Vacant lots overgrowing neighbors patience • Fish fry at the Dome • Zero gravity inspiration • More Audio, Video, Multimedia, and Graphics BLOGS News Updates • Democratic nominee Barrack Obama comes out swinging 6:25 a.m. CT • Barack Obama accepts nomination before huge crowd 12:09 a.m. CT • GOP may delay convention if Gustav strikes Gulf Coast 8:01 p.m. CT • Man killed in St. Charles Parish when car crosses median 6:30 p.m. CT • La. Dems ponder racial factor 1:05 a.m. CT • More Sports Updates • New Orleans Saints would go to Indianapolis if evacuation is called for • Miami Dolphins beat New Orleans Saints 14-10 • More North Shore Updates • Jury chosen for Jaume murder trial 7:06 p.m. CT • Alabama man guilty in 2006 slaying of contractor from Chalmette 10:58 a.m. CT • No problems on the Causeway Bridge 6:19 a.m. CT • More Business Updates • Tourism industry's Katrina recovery has been mixed 12:46 a.m. CT • More FORUMS Sound Off • Very few people are more... by FGSanford • Down with Bush by AlephBlower • I really liked the part by TBooneSlim • More Hot Topics • Saints • Crime & Safety • Mardi Gras • Bourbon Street • Prep Football • All Forums Computer error puts some personal data online Real estate agents' information posted Thursday, August 28, 2008 By Robert Travis Scott BATON ROUGE -- A glitch during a computer upgrade at the Louisiana Real Estate Commission caused the names, addresses and Social Security numbers of more than 13,000 licensed agents to be exposed on the Internet last week, sending waves of concern through the real estate community statewide. The commission, which is a state regulatory agency that oversees the licensing of all real estate agents and brokers, discovered the problem Friday after the confidential information had been accessible on the Internet for about two days, Executive Director J.C. Willie said. "Are we concerned? I guess we got to be," said Mark Rodi, president of Louisiana Realtors, a private industry group. "But you can't get upset about what you can't control." [@StoryAd?x] The commission has no way of knowing how many people might have accessed the file online, Willie said. Commission staff are preparing to send a letter to all the agents on the list informing them of the mishap and suggesting steps they should take to protect themselves from potential identity fraud. Willie said the commission was transferring its online programs to a new server when the sensitive electronic file, which is not normally posted on the Internet, was left unsecured and slipped in among the commission materials that could be seen online. The file was a large but incomplete list of licensed Louisiana real estate agents and brokers that was retained by the commission for its reports to a special insurance carrier that provides liability coverage for agents statewide. The insurer in years past had required that all the agents be identified by their Social Security numbers. That form of agent ID is no longer used by the commission or the insurance carrier. But the commission had kept the old list with the Social Security numbers in its computer files, Willie said. An agent who discovered the list online contacted the commission Friday and the problem was corrected. "It was an unfortunate occurrence, but it was handled immediately upon discovery," said Commission Chairwoman Gretchen Ezernack, a Monroe Realtor. The commission contacted the Internet search engine companies Google and Yahoo to ensure that the pages were not being retained by their systems, Willie said. Willie said it would be hard to pinpoint exactly who left the file exposed and that he expected there would be no consequences for whoever might be to blame. Rodi and Louisiana Realtors Chief Executive Malcolm Young said they were satisfied that the commission was doing all it could to address the problem. As of Wednesday, the commission was preparing a report to the attorney general as well as the mass mailing to the agents on the list. The attorney general's office has not been notified yet of the problem, said spokeswoman Tammi Arender. State law outlines the steps that must be taken by a state agency under these circumstances to notify people who might be affected, she said. If someone's identity is stolen and can show that a state agency was negligent, then that person could sue the state, she said. This is not the first time that a state agency's data on private citizens' personal information has been at risk. Last September, a file of financial data and Social Security numbers for hundreds of thousands of Louisiana college students and their parents, as well as those participating in the state's START college savings plan, were lost during truck transport by a data-storage company contracted by the Office of Student Financial Assistance. _________________________________________________________________ SHARE THIS STORY Reddit Digg del.icio.us Google Yahoo • How Does It Work? 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