O.C. court defends outsourcing

This isnt good.
http://www.ocregister.com/news/court...65-courts-data
Orange County's Superior Court contracts with a company that uses workers in Nogales, Mexico, to do the data entry of traffic tickets, a revelation on Thursday that outraged many who fear personal information is leaving the country.
The court has contracted since March 2006 with Cal Coast Data Entry, Inc., a Cerritos company that has a facility in Nogales. Information from tickets – including drivers' license numbers, car license numbers, birth dates and addresses – are scanned at the Cerritos facility and sent electronically to the Mexican facility.
In a statement issued Thursday evening, court officials defended use of the company, saying transfer of ticket information was by electronic encryption and the company has state-of-the-art security.
"The company and the staff they employ are dedicated to keeping the public's data secure and safe," the statement said. "The court wants to ensure the public that private data is safe."
Court officials refused to release the cost of the contract and said they would continue using the company. Cal Coast officials wouldn't comment, citing client confidentiality.
The disclosure of the Mexican outsourcing came from an unnamed county law enforcement officer who called a popular conservative radio program, KFI's "John & Ken Show," saying he had concerns about identity theft and the potential for terrorism. But the news had an even larger impact because the shock jocks urged their faithful listeners to call the Orange County Board of Supervisors and complain.
Supervisors were bombarded with angry callers who were told that the county doesn't have jurisdiction over the courts and that it's a state agency. That didn't mollify the callers or the radio hosts, and Supervisor Chris Norby appeared on the show and denounced the court's hiring of the outsourcing company.
"(DMV information) has to be kept as closely guarded as possible and outsourcing this kind of information outside the country is something this board would never support," Norby said.
Whether other California courts follow the same practice is uncertain. Lynn Holton, a spokeswoman for the Judicial Council of California, said she didn't know if all 58 superior courts in the state enter into contracts for outsourcing data processing but it is within a court's discretion to do so.
"Many courts in California enter into contracts for various services that are needed for court operations," she said.
John and Ken were unrepentant in pointing listeners to the wrong agency, although the station removed the supervisors' phone numbers from its Web site at midday. Getting masses of people to react to erroneous information is a growing trend, thanks to the lightning quick speed of the Internet, said Barbara O'Connor, director of the Institute for the Study of Politics and Media at Cal State Sacramento.
The problem is especially pertinent to "infotainment," and talk radio likes to encourage "participatory audiences," she said.
"That is a universal problem. Increasingly every tipster in the world gives media entities information and it's often wrong, and they post it," O'Connor said. "So the media in general has to be very careful before they post it on the Web and unleash the masses to go after the target."
The courts have contracted with outside agencies for data entry of traffic citations for several years, the court's statement said. In addition to the electronic security, an independent company audits Cal Coast to ensure compliance, the Nogales facility has 24/7 security and the staff are required to undergo a national felony background check. Nogales employees are also certified by the Sonoran State Police, the courts statement said.

The power of Jon and Ken.

I was waiting for someone down your way to start a thread about this. My sister called me on Wednesday and told me about what had happened. According to her, the un-named sheriff’s officer called into John & Ken and exposed this and they didn't put the story to air until after several others corroborated it. The county has every right to outsource their clerical work but when it leaves the USA, identity theft would be a real cause for concern. Not only will people in a foreign country have your personal info (D.L. DOB and home address) but guess who is going to process your credit card payment? IMO, they would be giving them every piece of personal info less your SSN that they need to become your evil non bill paying clone. It doesn't sound like they will be changing their minds anytime soon so I guess the best advice is: Don't break any laws in Orange County.

I'm thinking they could also use this info to get fake passports and enter our country.
I was waiting for someone down your way to start a thread about this. My sister called me on Wednesday and told me about what had happened. According to her, the un-named sheriff’s officer called into John & Ken and exposed this and they didn't put the story to air until after several others corroborated it. The county has every right to outsource their clerical work but when it leaves the USA, identity theft would be a real cause for concern. Not only will people in a foreign country have your personal info (D.L. DOB and home address) but guess who is going to process your credit card payment? IMO, they would be giving them every piece of personal info less your SSN that they need to become your evil non bill paying clone. It doesn't sound like they will be changing their minds anytime soon so I guess the best advice is: Don't break any laws in Orange County.

And copy and sell fake drivers licenses with all your accurate info on them. Just change the photo to Joe Menendeze's and roll. :eek:

Exactly. :D
And copy and sell fake drivers licenses with all your accurate info on them. Just change the photo to Joe Menendeze's and roll. :eek:

They should outsource the juries while they're at it