>
> PHOENIX - Up to 40,000 children's identities were stored on Department
> of Economic Security hard drives that were stolen from a storage  
> unit in
> October.

What part of the Security did they not understand?

I get a kick out of companies who store things in self storage units  
where the walls do not go all the wall to the ceiling.  If you rent  
one, you can enter all of them.  This is workable if all you are  
storing is an old sofa and a mattress that don't fit over the wall  
but so many of these units become records storage units for old records.

Unfortunately the company with the records does not view them with  
the same gleam in their eye as Identity Theft specialists.

> Still they were stolen from a public storage unit where DES keeps its
> back-up files. According to the police report, a man and woman  
> broke in and
> left with five hard drives valued at $450.

The good news is that a hard drive left in a Phoenix self storage  
place would be fried if it was stored there over the summer.  Those  
building rise to 140º F in the hot months.  They could have saved  
money by cooking them in their own oven instead of paying for a self  
storage facility.

A useful note to records managers, take the fact that your records  
are stored in a vault very skeptically. If your vault is concrete  
block or concrete, then your media is not protected as required under  
NFPA 232. This concrete box does not offer the proper environment nor  
will it hold the temperature below 125º F. in a fire.  If it is  
concrete then how do they air condition it to provide the proper air  
circulation to avoid mold and mildew and the proper temperature  
control for media?  If they run an air conditioning duct through the  
wall then they have violated their own integrity.  Facilities  
department do not know how to build a vault and this is who is tasked  
with the chore.  According to NFPA 232 you, the records manager, are  
the Responsible Party" on designing a vault.  So an incident like  
above should track right back to the records manager for this  
agency.  They should have spoken up.  It was their call.  Then if a  
loss like this occurs, there is there complain to Legal pointing out  
the error that was being made.

>
> They even have vault storage available for electronic records.
>
> No excuse at all!
>
> Tod Chernikoff, CRM

But I will bet you that this vault is not properly designed as I  
stated above.

A good ARMA Chapter learning session would be to have someone  
convicted of Identity Theft come speak to the Chapter about how they  
view records and can exploit them.

Hint:  Do not pay this man or woman with a credit card.

I once was a speaker in Seattle at the ARMA Chapter and a friend of  
mine, Dave Heric who owns DataSite Northwest came to hear my talk.  I  
introduced him as an old friend from PRISM.  But everyone thought I  
said an old friend from Prison.  Well then nobody wanted to sit at  
our table for dinner.

Hugh Smith
FIRELOCK Fireproof Modular Vaults
[log in to unmask]
(610)  756-4440    Fax (610)  756-4134
WWW.FIRELOCK.COM




List archives at http://lists.ufl.edu/archives/recmgmt-l.html
Contact [log in to unmask] for assistance
To unsubscribe from this list, click the below link. If not already present, place UNSUBSCRIBE RECMGMT-L or UNSUB RECMGMT-L in the body of the message.
mailto:[log in to unmask]