Army's 18th MEDCOM in Seoul, Korea Puts 49 at Risk of ID Theft
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 28, 2007Media Contact: Aaron Titus
(202) 681-1686
SEOUL, Korea. The Army 18th MEDCOM in Seoul, Korea, posted full names, social security numbers, dates of birth, medical diagnoses, medical treatments, sex, race, and other sensitive information of 78 service men and women. The 18th MEDCOM and the Pentagon was notified on June 13, 2006, and the file was deleted within days, but the military did not comment on the existence of the file. The file, "Heat Injury.xls" detailed heat exhaustion and heat stroke of patients stationed in Korea. Some of medical notes included:
"Competing in Army 10 miles, pushing self to make team. Ambient temp 75 F, Rectal temp 106.9 F, No organ damage." "2 mile road march with full gear @1300, Rectal Temp 98.2 F." "P[atient] was out doing field patrol, felt dizzy, kept falling back down. P[atient] felt her body cramping." "Rectal Temperature: 107.0, Brain and Liver were affected by the heat stroke. No previous heat injury." "multi-organ failure; p[atient] expired."
The file was available through major search engines, such as Google, before it was taken down. Individuals on this list are at extreme risk of identity theft.
Individuals affected by this exposure should immediately visit www.nationalidwatch.org and search for their names, to confirm what types of personal information were exposed. NationalIDWatch.org has a list of recommended steps victims should take.
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National ID Watch is a search engine for personal information breaches. Sponsored by the Washington, DC non-profit Liberty Coalition, NationalIDWatch.org provides more than a million free personalized Identity Exposure Reports™ as a public service.
Each Identity Exposure Report (IXR) documents what types of personal information were exposed (such as Social Security Numbers, Birth Dates, Addresses, etc.), without revealing them. Each IXR also details the situation surrounding each exposure, and contact information of those responsible for the breach. Armed with this information, victims can further investigate, take action, or correct harm.