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In Wake Of Theft, Seven Years Of Identity Theft Protection In Place For Township Employees
By Catherine Galioto
The township plans to spend $85,000 to protect employees from identity theft in a proposal that would span seven years from September 19, the day thieves broke into an employee's home and stole a computer containing township personnel files.
The township council this week drafted a resolution to set the terms for dealing with a security breach involving files of more than 500 staffers. After discussing what terms they think would best serve the employees and the township, council members asked the township attorney to draft a resolution.
The council voted unanimously to seven years of identity theft protection, which over the years, when multiplying the cost by number of employees, adds up to a $85,000 price tag.
The terms would protect employees whose personnel information is now in the hands of a computer thief or thieves. It's unclear whether the burglars have accessed information on a laptop they stole or if township employees are already victims of identity theft. But the township isn't taking its chances.
"This is a major breach in security," Councilman Joseph Sangiovanni said.
The plan will add layers of security to employee's financial records and watch for suspicious activity. Should their information be sold to make fake IDs, accounts or for other fraud, the plan would pay for correcting the employee's credit records.
Council President Stephen Acropolis asked for the resolution after learning the employees had a 90-day plan for protection offered. With the effects of identity theft taking years to emerge, seven years was suggested as suitable protection. After hearing township employee's concerns at a previous council meeting, members suggested it protect employees who retire, too.
Staff who already purchased credit protection would likely be reimbursed, according to the resolution.
"Our employees did not cause this problem. They should not be required to pay to fix this problem," Acropolis said. The money spent is absolutely necessary, he said, even if only one incident of identity theft emerges over the years.
The township should also look at how insurance could reimburse the township for the cost of the plan, he argued. Acropolis estimates that should the township's insurance defray the cost, Brick would have $35,000 left to pay.
Among the 510 employees affected are the planning board members and Councilwoman Ruthanne Scaturro.
Scaturro criticized a memo the township distributed to its employees regarding the incident, which did not spell out the fact that personnel files were stolen in a computer theft. Instead, a communication went out days after the incident urging employees to closely watch their accounts for suspicious activity.
"We didn't know what to think, it was so unclear," Scaturro said about the news. "Our name and Social Security Number is tied together (in the files), and I wasn't sure what to do."
The township is now negotiating with Experian, a credit bureau, to provide the protection. Township Administrator Scott Pezarras said they are meeting with employee's union representatives to negotiate. A hotline is in place to help employees immediately in the case of a problem.
Sangiovanni said the township needs to not just react to the incident, but to be proactive to prevent future problems.
"I'm not confident in everything I've heard," he said. "I'm not confident everything in the building is secure. We should have an audit of that department…We might have other breaches."
The theft incident was troubling, council members said, because the computer was not a township computer, but the employee's personal possession. How is it that employees are allowed to take sensitive information out of town hall, they asked?
In fact, they are not allowed to; it is prohibited, Pezarras said. He is letting staff know that, spelling out the difference between public records and private ones.
Residents called for increased security, too. Some worried that as residents of the township, the township had non-public information filed on them as well. What if this got out?
Sangiovanni called the whole situation "scary." Acropolis said it is a "complete disaster."
"Protecting these employees is the most important business we've done tonight," he said.
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