The OIG recommended that FEMA implement controls to ensure that the agency only sends required data elements of registered disaster survivors to contractors. (Image: Shutterstock)
The Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (OIG), while auditing the Transitional Sheltering Assistance (TSA) program of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), has determined that FEMA violated the Privacy Act of 1974 and Department of Homeland Security policy by releasing personally identifiable information (PII) and sensitive personally identifiable information (SPII) of 2.3 million survivors of hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria and the California wildfires in 2017.
Disaster survivors at risk for ID theft, fraud
Without corrective action, the OIG said, the disaster survivors involved in the privacy incident "are at increased risk of identity theft and fraud."
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Steven A. Meyerowitz
Steven A. Meyerowitz, a Harvard Law School graduate, is the founder and president of Meyerowitz Communications Inc., a law firm marketing communications consulting company. He may be contacted at [email protected].
