Kanavas calls for audit of data security practices

Madison, Wis. - In a letter to the co-chairs of the state's Joint Legislative Audit Committee, State Sen. Ted Kanavas has called for a performance review audit on data security practices in each branch of state government.

In the letter, addressed to Senator Jim Sullivan, D-Wauwatosa, and State Rep. Suzanne Jeskewitz, R-Menomonee Falls, Kanavas referenced several security breaches, including the printing of more than 170,000 Social Security numbers on the outside of tax booklets.

“We need to know the size and the scope of the problem," Kanavas said in a release. "It seems as though every week more and more citizens' personal information is being put at risk."

Kanavas, a Republican from Brookfield, said the review should investigate several practices of the legislative, judicial, and executive branches. They include practices for providing third party contractors personal information, for data destruction, and for notifying people when their personal information has been accessed by an unauthorized third party.

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