Corrections Web glitch shows IDs to bloggers
Corrections Web glitch shows state IDs to bloggers

By Julie Bisbee

Published: April 16, 2008

A recent glitch in the state Corrections Department's Web site allowed bloggers to access the Social Security numbers of violent offenders in Oklahoma.

Bloggers from a computer programming Web site found the information and alerted the department, said agency spokesman Jerry Massie. The list contained the names, addresses and Social Security numbers of some 6,000 people.

So far, there is no evidence that identities have been stolen from the convicted felons and sex offenders on the list. Sex offenders are required to register their addresses with local authorities.

Massie said the discovery was the result of "weaknesses in the application” on the state's Web site. Those weaknesses were fixed Thursday night, he said, after the bloggers contacted the department about their discovery.

"They contacted us Thursday evening, and we shut it down to work on it and fix it,” Massie said.

The bloggers used certain search parameters to troll for the information. The addresses and names are already public record as part of the state's violent offenders list, but information such as Social Security numbers aren't normally available online.

In March, the state Supreme Court restricted access to court records online as a precaution to protect people from identity theft. The court later rescinded the ruling.