A recent data breach at the Everglades Correctional Institution (ECI) in Florida has raised alarms among the families of inmates, as their contact information was inadvertently exposed to the prison’s incarcerated population. On July 24, staff at the facility sent an email to all inmates containing the phone numbers and email addresses of individuals who visit them. This incident has left many concerned about the potential risks to their safety and that of their relatives still behind bars, according to reports by the Florida Phoenix.
Inmates at ECI are able to access their emails using kiosks and secure tablets, which means that they can now potentially reach out to the families of their fellow inmates. The revelation of exposed visitor contact details has particularly alarmed several family members, with some fearing for their safety amid the possibility of retaliation or extortion from inmates.
Jan Thompson, one affected individual, expressed her concerns, stating, “What if there’s some inmate that doesn’t like another inmate? And he tells his family, ‘Okay, here’s his wife’s phone number. Call her and tell her if she doesn’t pay and put $500 on my book, I’m going to have her husband stabbed and killed.’ What’s stopping them from doing that?” Similarly, Patrice Kelly shared her distress over the breach, recalling her attempts to eliminate her digital footprint following a stalking incident. “I went to great lengths to scrub my digital footprint, only for my data to potentially end up in the hands of criminals anyway,” she lamented.
The Florida Department of Corrections has been contacted for further information regarding this security breach, but inquiries reported by the Phoenix have, as of yet, gone unanswered. This is not the first time sensitive information has been mistakenly disclosed by authorities; a notable incident occurred in August 2023 in Northern Ireland, where the personal data of nearly 10,000 police staff members was similarly leaked.
In light of this disturbing trend, the ongoing concerns around the safeguarding of sensitive information may call for a thorough review of practices in prisons and other governmental organizations. Data protection remains a pivotal issue as more incidents of breaches like this continue to emerge. For families of inmates, the breach has created an atmosphere of uncertainty and fear, prompting calls for increased security and privacy measures to protect those most vulnerable.