GDOL Works To Prevent "Human Error" That Caused Security Breach

The Georgia Department of Labor is taking multiple steps to ensure Thursday's "employee error" that resulted in sensitive information of thousands of its customers being disseminated via email will never happen again.

The department is reviewing its internal policies and will consider updating its training policies in relation to its employees who are tasked with handling sensitive personal information with care. 

"We want them to know we are doing everything humanly possible to protect their confidentiality and to prevent anything from harming them as a result of this," said GDOL Spokesperson Sam Hall, referring to those affected by Thursday's mishap. 

The department said on Thursday a document containing the names and social security numbers of 4,457 customers from its Cobb-Cherokee Career Center, was emailed to about 1,000 people.

The email, which was attached with the document due to "human error," was meant for internal communication, Hall added. The mistake was discovered within 10 minutes after the email was sent, and the agency followed up with another email asking those who received the initial communication to destroy the document they received. 

The employee who send the email, Hall said, has been suspended pending the completion of the agency's internal investigation. 

"We are going to determine step by step how this error occurred," he said. "It is human error. It’s nothing that’s systemic."

The agency has also sent out emails and letters via the United States Postal Service to inform those whose personal information was attached to the document.

In that correspondence includes how those whose information was potentially compromised can register with Equifax to take advantage of their credit monitoring service.

Hall said the agency is working with Equifax to foot the bill for the service. Internally, the agency has brought on PERC, a company that specializes in crafting information policies, to help GDOL evaluate its existing policies.

The agency will also evaluate how it trains its employees handling sensitive information to see what, if anything, can be changed to ensure greater protections of that information.  

Hall noted he's been with GDOL for 20 years, and nothing of this magnitude has happened with the agency. 

"It is greatly the exception to the rule and I'm pretty confident to tell people it’s not likely to happen again," he added.  

Don't miss any news from Woodstock-Towne Lake Patch! Subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here. Also, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter!