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18 Million Targeted Voter Records Exposed By Database Error (csoonline.com)

itwbennett writes: Last week, a database containing 191 million voter records was exposed because of a misconfigured database that no on wants to claim ownership of. Around the same time, a second, smaller database containing fewer than 57 million records similar to those previously discovered was also found by researcher Chris Vickery. But the second database also includes 18 million records that hold targeted demographic information. And as was the case with the previous voter database, no one wants to claim ownership.

75 comments

  1. Bourgeois Democracy is a Fraud! by For+a+Free+Internet · · Score: 0

    "Marx grasped this essence of capitalist democracy splendidly when, in analyzing the experience of the Commune, he said that the oppressed are allowed once every few years to decide which particular representatives of the oppressing class shall represent and repress them in parliament!" -- V.I. Lenin, The State and Revolution, 1917

    --
    UNITE with the Campaign for a Free Internet because today, our future begins with tomorrow!
    1. Re:Bourgeois Democracy is a Fraud! by MightyMartian · · Score: 1, Insightful

      And how did Lenin's alternative work out

      --
      The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
    2. Re:Bourgeois Democracy is a Fraud! by RockDoctor · · Score: 1
      Compared to the Great Depression - not too badly. Once Stalin got his system going, it started to go off the rails, but in the 1930s it was increasingly obvious that communism was posing a real alternative to untrammelled capitalism. No wonder the powers of Capital were delighted to stoke Stalin's paranoia.

      Since then, things haven't gone so well. Though the 2008-to-today financial crash is again showing some of the horrible problems with Capitalism.

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
  2. Eyes on Hillarious Clinton by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    She went with her own illegal / wide open e-mail server.

    This sounds like it's right up her alley.

    1. Re:Eyes on Hillarious Clinton by bobbied · · Score: 1

      Didn't Bernie Sanders get in trouble with the DNC for accessing data he wasn't allowed to? Seems up his alley too.

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    2. Re:Eyes on Hillarious Clinton by ganjadude · · Score: 1

      im no fan of bernie, the man doesnt understand the difference between a secured and unsecured loan... having said that its more likely the DNC and hillary are throwing mud and seeing what sticks

      --
      have you seen my sig? there are many others like it but none that are the same
    3. Re:Eyes on Hillarious Clinton by budgenator · · Score: 1

      My understanding is they were exposed to it through a miss-configure web-page, and one of his staffers looked at it, probably thinking that "that can't really be what I think it is" then realizing "that something I shouldn't be looking at". I dearly love to rake a Democrat over the coals, but this is a non-issue.

      --
      Apocalypse Cancelled, Sorry, No Ticket Refunds
    4. Re:Eyes on Hillarious Clinton by bobbied · · Score: 1

      Do realize that this is ALL SPIN no matter what way you slice it. Who knows what the real story is, did they open up access on accident or on purpose? Did Sander's folks exploit that opening? Was there ever any security there to start with? Who knows? All you will get out of the press is what sells advertising and out of the candidates what generates the most buzz/fundraising they can manage. It's a game to them. It's like this canard that Sanders is not a career politician even though he's held elected office for 25 years, where Hillary IS a career politician having held elected office for what, 1 senate term of 6 years or so? It's all spin.

      Personally, I don't care one bit either way on this story. Where I'd love to have Sanders as the democratic nominee (or as an independent candidate running to the Hill's left for that matter) I really don't have a dog in this hunt being I'll not be voting for either of them under any circumstances.

      So... To make is short. I was trying to make a joke about the democrats and data security.... Saying that Sanders and the Hill are both as qualified as the other on this subject.

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
  3. Does this really surprise anyone? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Not me. Though it does make me feel a little less badly about never registering to vote.

  4. TLDR: It's Nation Builder's database by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 1

    Better summary, from TFA:

    >> the database appears to be from Nation Builder's 2014 update from February or March

    1. Re:TLDR: It's Nation Builder's database by Jonah+Hex · · Score: 3, Informative
      Nation Builder sells data to others, so while the data originally came from NB no one is taking ownership of the database that is exposed to the public.

      Speaking to Dissent, Nation Builder said that the IP address hosting the database wasn't one of theirs, and it wasn't an IP address for any of their hosted clients.

      But is Nation Builder to blame? Not really... So while Nation Builder denied any claim to the IP and the leaked database, it's entirely possible they might know who developed it – but that would require an extensive records check. This is because a developer or campaign wishing to access the Nation Builder Election Center would need to register their contact details, such as name and email address. However, Nation Builder is under no obligation to identify customers, and once the data has been obtained, they cannot control what happens to it. In short, while they provided the data that's in my newly leaked voter record, they're not liable in any way for it being exposed. And to be clear, I don't blame Nation Builder for my leaked record either, I blame the person(s) who developed the database and poorly configured its hosting. I'm just not sure who they are yet.

    2. Re:TLDR: It's Nation Builder's database by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      no one is taking ownership of the database that is exposed to the public.

      It's all public data already, nothing was "exposed" which wasn't already fully exposed.
      It's like someone finding an online phonebook which contains only part of the Yellow Pages directory, and then freaking out because OMG! People's phone numbers and addresses are exposed!

    3. Re:TLDR: It's Nation Builder's database by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Fuck it. If nobody wants to claim ownership, shut it off.

    4. Re:TLDR: It's Nation Builder's database by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The elephant in the room is that both the Democratic and Republican parties have bought this database for many years. Not to belabor the obvious but politicians make strenuous efforts to increase turnout from potential supporters. The bottom line is that if you register to vote your name, address party affiliation and various miscellaneous information (e.g. email address) that varies from state to state is available to anyone with a few hundred bucks. One's vote may be secret but your voter registration is not.

  5. Is it part of the uncoordinated coordination? by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Election law is quite esoteric and it forbids "coordination" between people with similar goals. One way to defeat it is to collect the data and leave in a secret location but arguably a public location. The other party gets tipped off and they collect the "publicly" found info. Ted Cruz dumped tons of unedited video shoot in some public you tube account to provide material for his PAC to create advertisements for him without "coordination". Someone found it and comedians had a field day with it. They had specifically avoided copyright claims to allow the other party to use it legally. Now comedians happily playing with it.

    Similarly Fiorina just accepts invitation to speak from different group, posts these invitations publicly in a google spreadsheet. Her SuperPAC uses this info to organize all the campaign work. Uncoordinated coordination!

    This database could also be one of the deep pocketed presidential campaigns getting the info without paying for it, or provide the info without appearing to coordinate with them.

    Just wish we would just scrap the elections and just sell the elections to the highest bidder at this point.

    --
    sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
    1. Re:Is it part of the uncoordinated coordination? by xxxJonBoyxxx · · Score: 4, Informative

      >> wish we would just scrap the elections and just sell the elections to the highest bidder

      Do you really want the Service Employees International Union in charge?
      https://www.opensecrets.org/or...

    2. Re:Is it part of the uncoordinated coordination? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      Anyone tipping less than 15% will be shot.

    3. Re:Is it part of the uncoordinated coordination? by gilgongo · · Score: 1

      "Just wish we would just scrap the elections and just sell the elections to the highest bidder at this point."

      I'm too lazy to Google for it now, but I quite liked the idea of giving all voters in elections a fixed number of "tokens" which they could give to candidates who stood for office. The tokens could then be redeemed by the candidates for funding from the state for their subsequent election campaigns. A sort of pre-election election. Think that guy looks interesting? Toss him one of your tokens and see if he comes up with a compelling campaign to persuade him to vote for you.

      --
      "And the meaning of words; when they cease to function; when will it start worrying you?"
    4. Re:Is it part of the uncoordinated coordination? by Ralph+Wiggam · · Score: 2

      One way to defeat it is to collect the data and leave in a secret location but arguably a public location.

      This database is basically an empty shell of an election information DB. Remember the thing between Bernie Sanders and Hillary? They share the same basic DB, with factual information like age and address. Then each campaign can add their own secret information on top of that, which was inadvertently opened up. This mystery DB doesn't have any of that secret sauce.

    5. Re:Is it part of the uncoordinated coordination? by evilviper · · Score: 2

      Just wish we would just scrap the elections and just sell the elections to the highest bidder at this point.

      The great thing about elections is that the one with the most money DOESN'T necessarily win. Money sure helps, but there are innumerable examples of the big spender losing, even post-Citizens United.

      --
      Slashdot gets worse every day... Pipedot: News for nerds, without the corporate slant
    6. Re:Is it part of the uncoordinated coordination? by bigpat · · Score: 1

      Just wish we would just scrap the elections and just sell the elections to the highest bidder at this point.

      I'd prefer to see elections go to the lowest bidder. Give me a dollar each month, elect me, and I will vote however you and all the other people that gave me a dollar want me to vote.

    7. Re:Is it part of the uncoordinated coordination? by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

      but I quite liked the idea of giving all voters in elections a fixed number of "tokens" which they could give to candidates who stood for office. The tokens could then be redeemed by the candidates for funding from the state

      I kinda prefer that the tokens be called "dollars" and the "state" not be involved in deciding who gets them, or who they are taken from so they can be handed out.

      Keeping track of the lists of people who can vote is hard enough without having to create another list of people who get tokens and how many. Doing such a thing at the state or federal level means the local voter lists have to be consolidated and become just another database that the state and feds can use to ... whatever. Lose track of and deny responsibility for failing to secure is just one possible bad outcome.

    8. Re:Is it part of the uncoordinated coordination? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      It's also how they transfer weapons in the Middle East. Leave them in an armory, and it gets "raided" by "terrorists". Pretty much what happened in Benghazi...

    9. Re:Is it part of the uncoordinated coordination? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do you really want the Service Employees International Union in charge?

      Compared to who is in charge right now and to those who have been in charge the last couple of decades: Yeah, maybe.

      Your point?

    10. Re:Is it part of the uncoordinated coordination? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do you really want the Service Employees International Union in charge?

      Compared to who is in charge right now and to those who have been in charge the last couple of decades: Yeah, maybe.

      Your point?

      Look at the places where the folks the SEIU support have been in charge for decades.

      Detroit, for one.

      Maybe you like going broke spending other people's money?

      BTW, that chart the GP linked should scare the crap out of you - four out of the top six political contributors are unions largely made up of government employees. Think about how fundamentally corrupt that is - government employee unions buy elections for candidates who then become beholden to those groups in order to remain in power. That's government for the government by the government.

      Kinda explains how Detroit went down the tubes while having huge pensions for government employees, doesn't it? And if the regular residents of Detroit got screwed, so what?

      Tell us again that putting the SEIU in charge is such a great idea. Please. I need a laugh.

  6. Do we want this private? by bigpat · · Score: 1

    These are voter registrations that are apparently available to any organization with the resources and connections to buy them or compile them... Aren't we better served if we just had the states make this information available for download? To my thinking it would be better to know what is known about us and what is being used to target us with political and commercial marketing rather than keep our information private. Although, certain law enforcement professionals have already expressed concern about having their addresses listed. So, at least that information should have been private.

    1. Re:Do we want this private? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Do we need it available to anyone but election officials to make sure only registered voters vote?

    2. Re:Do we want this private? by DaHat · · Score: 1

      Aren't we better served if we just had the states make this information available for download?

      Most states put limitations on how the data can be used: ie only political, law enforcement, journalistic, etc. The issue in part becomes how do you prevent people from misusing the list(s)?

      Finding the home address of a potential stalking target becomes easy, as is using the data for marketing or other commercial purposes (which most states prohibit).

      Watermarking a CSV file in a way that a quick search for differences between a couple different copies of the list isn't so easy.

    3. Re:Do we want this private? by DaHat · · Score: 1

      Do we need it available to anyone but election officials to make sure only registered voters vote?

      Need? No, but if you are part of a campaign they are invaluable.

      While most state/national parties maintain their own curated lists (usually based on input from the states + their own info on likelihood of voting their way), if you are an upstart candidate who doesn't have the support of the party, your campaign is going to be doomed from the start without being able to target registered voters.

    4. Re:Do we want this private? by jandrese · · Score: 1

      Good luck enforcing those laws. Just buy a home and see how quickly your mailbox gets filled with flyers addressed directly to you offering home services.

      --

      I read the internet for the articles.
    5. Re:Do we want this private? by Tablizer · · Score: 2

      Fewer people will vote if spammers etc. can get their personal information.

    6. Re:Do we want this private? by crbowman · · Score: 1

      While I'm generally a supporter of open records and transparent government. I'm don't understand what the rationale is for releasing this data. Why do I have to release my information to the public in order to avail myself of my basic right to vote? I could see that there would be some uses, research into voter demographics for redistricting and for study of fairness of voting but I'm not sure all this information is required to allow that, and even more I'm not sure the value outweighs the down side.

    7. Re:Do we want this private? by DaHat · · Score: 1

      Tell me about it. When a renter I was slightly annoyed by 2-3 credit card offers a week... now I've got 2+ refinance offers in addition to at least 1 credit card offer, not to mention solicitations by real estate agents for when I am ready to sell my house. My wife was even puzzled by the fact we got a Christmas card from one of these agents this year.

      The difference though is that property sales/ownership information generally doesn't have these sort of prohibitions on them.

    8. Re: Do we want this private? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      At this point every state and local government is releasing this information to the Republican and Democratic Parties along with possibly other organizations. And those organizations are then giving the information to whomever they choose.

    9. Re: Do we want this private? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      People should assume that this is already a data source for slammers, once the data is incorporated into a big database there are no government checks on how the data is being further shared.

  7. I found the copy of the config file by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    define("DB_USER_NAME", "admin");
    define("DB_PASSWORD", "passw0rd");

    and of course the firewall definition allowing access on all ports from all IPs.

    I think calling some things mis-configured is a real understatement

    1. Re: I found the copy of the config file by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If true, that is by far the most secure database password I've ever seen.

      No, really, I'm not joking. So many admin/admin, root/password, appname/appname, etc. databases out there. Going as far as to replace a letter with a number by far beats the DB security for most web apps.

  8. Big data by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So are you starting to understand why the government wants to collect all or electronic data? Hint: the same reason all of the other tech companies want your data.

  9. Oh, so.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If the "wrong" candidate wins one can blame the weak databases and invalidate the votes? Genius.

  10. Who cares? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    What does it matter?

    1. Re:Who cares? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Exactly, the election is fixed anyway. None of the Republicans have what it takes to beat Billary. Then throw "The Donald" into the mix as a distraction and ba-da-boom the election is already over before it's started.

    2. Re:Who cares? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Snowden '16.

    3. Re:Who cares? by bobbied · · Score: 1

      Hill is that you?

      What does it matter now?

      FIFY

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
  11. then it just come down to the supreme court pickin by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    then it just come down to the supreme court picking the winner with a dead line to get the case done by X time.

  12. Re:then it just come down to the supreme court pic by DaHat · · Score: 2

    I'm sorry to see/hear that you still push with this revisionist bit of history.

    The best you could have hoped for in 2000 was Bush as Pres & Lieberman as VP.

    Under no constitutional or lawful sequence of events was Al Gore going to become President.

  13. Re:Donald Trump in '16! by bobbied · · Score: 1

    Build a wall? Sure... But I'm still waiting on how you make Mexico pay for it.. The only ways I've come up with involve military force or some kind of new tax/tariff etc.. Just sending them a bill marked "over due, please pay now" is unlikely to be effective.

    I beg you, ANY other republican contender over Trump... Please? I'll take him over the Hill, but he's my absolute last choice of the possible republican contenders.

    --
    "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
  14. Re:Great! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Terror
    Because knowledge is a good thing, even knowledge that challenges your most devout beliefs.

  15. stupid question here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why does there even need to be such a database ? It seems unnecessary. And even then, it registers way to much personal information. Especially the registration of party affiliation seems to come close to be a violation of the secrecy of the vote.

    Here (Netherlands) we just use the lists from the civil register. If you are on it and eligible to vote, you can vote. No need for special registration or something. What is wrong with that ?

    1. Re:stupid question here by bobbied · · Score: 3, Informative

      Where effective in the Netherlands, there are some legal impediments to doing such a thing in the USA which stem from our constitution.

      We keep the same records as your "civil register" at the same "local level" but they are independently managed and are not coordinated. For instance, if you get married, this fact is recorded in the county you get married in, which may not be the county or even the state you live in. Also, your civil register produces an ID for every person over 14 years old which must be presented when doing any government function, something which is considered racist by some sectors of the USA's society. Because of our constitution, the records you put in the "civil register" really cannot be put in one place, but are kept independently.

      In the USA, registration is OPTIONAL for just about everything including voting. Where registration is required it can usually be avoided if you try or have a specific religious objection to being registered.

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    2. Re:stupid question here by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Also, your civil register produces an ID for every person over 14 years old which must be presented when doing any government function, something which is considered racist by some sectors of the USA's society.

      By your wording, it sounds like the government provides those IDs for free. The issue in the US is that IDs cost money (actual amount doesn't matter legally: requiring a citizen to pay money to be allowed to vote is illegal) and often require waiting in line in an out-of-the-way office that poor people can't afford to get to / spend the time off work to go to.

  16. Re:Donald Trump in '16! by DaHat · · Score: 2

    But I'm still waiting on how you make Mexico pay for it..

    While not a fan of Trump, I recognize that as a business person he starts with a more out there proposal which he can then back off from during negotiations... which this sounds to be too.

    The only ways I've come up with involve military force or some kind of new tax/tariff etc.. Just sending them a bill marked "over due, please pay now" is unlikely to be effective.

    You aren't thinking creatively enough.

    If $23 billion is in fact being sent from the US to Mexico... just tack a 20% 'wall' tax and you pay for a $49 billion dollar wall in just 10 years.

    Granted, such projections are based on more or less static accounting and discounts any changes in behavior.

  17. Re:Donald Trump in '16! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The Government can't get huge companies to pay their own taxes (that shelter money offshore and funnel through international channels), but they're gonna tax the little people? Yeah, that does sound about right. Fuck the rich, and fuck the serial bankruptster Trump.

  18. Re:Donald Trump in '16! by DaHat · · Score: 1

    The Government can't get huge companies to pay their own taxes (that shelter money offshore and funnel through international channels),

    Like it or not, those methods are legal at present.

    but they're gonna tax the little people?

    How well paid are the lobbyists for the 'little people'?

  19. Well then... rm -rf "no one" will care right? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    drop table * * (yes, I'm not a DBA), or cd / and sudo root, rm -rf (but I am a sys admin) and wait a few minutes. "no one owns it," so then, "No one will care or miss it, right?"

  20. In particular by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In particular, the draft registration is the only one that's in any way mandatory. No, SSN isn't mandatory, and making it mandatory wouldn't pass constitutional scrutiny, though your parents do it to you.

    1. Re:In particular by bobbied · · Score: 1

      Even registering with the selective service is avoidable on religious grounds too.... Surely being a conscientious objector on religious grounds would be sufficient to be excepted from the requirement?

      --
      "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
    2. Re:In particular by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You still have to register. You just get a job like say, layperson or nurse or pencil pusher. ;)

  21. Re:Donald Trump in '16! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You aren't thinking creatively enough.

    If $23 billion is in fact being sent from the US to Mexico... just tack a 20% 'wall' tax and you pay for a $49 billion dollar wall in just 10 years.

    Oh... I can see Western Union lobbying AGAINST this tax.
    You can't just avoid the tax by, you know, mailing cash.....

  22. Re:Donald Trump in '16! by bobbied · · Score: 1

    But I'm still waiting on how you make Mexico pay for it..

    While not a fan of Trump, I recognize that as a business person he starts with a more out there proposal which he can then back off from during negotiations... which this sounds to be too.

    The only ways I've come up with involve military force or some kind of new tax/tariff etc.. Just sending them a bill marked "over due, please pay now" is unlikely to be effective.

    You aren't thinking creatively enough.

    If $23 billion is in fact being sent from the US to Mexico... just tack a 20% 'wall' tax and you pay for a $49 billion dollar wall in just 10 years.

    Granted, such projections are based on more or less static accounting and discounts any changes in behavior.

    Like I said, if you are not willing to recover the cost of the wall by force of arms, all you can do is add a tax or tariff on economic activity.

    But as others have pointed out, putting a tax on money transfers to/from Mexico really doesn't solve the problem because then folks would change their behavior and just send cash directly...

    --
    "File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
  23. Re:then it just come down to the supreme court pic by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Including the remedies in Florida law that the SCOTUS denied Fl the right to undertake? One of those was a full recount of all questionable counties (or something prettty damned close) and IIRC Gore would have won that count per the officially unofficial recount run by the journalists some years later.

    Love the GOP - all for "state's rights" until those rights bite them on the butt, then trample those rights with the Federal Gummint! Yep!

  24. Re:then it just come down to the supreme court pic by DaHat · · Score: 1

    Again, revisionist history that ignores reality, not to mention well established constitutional process and law.

    Like I said, "Under no constitutional or lawful sequence of events was Al Gore going to become President."

    A "Certificate of Ascertainment" had already been sent to congress and the Archivist of the United States, at that point the role of the state was over. Period.

    The only remaining hope for the Gore campaign would be for the joint session of (the new) congress that is tasked with counting the votes challenge the result. If successful, each state delegation would cast a single vote for President. Given the breakdown of the 2000 House of Representatives election, it is almost certain that Bush would have won.

    When it comes to VP, similar process in the senate, however due to the 50/50 split at the time, the President pro tempore of the Senate would cast the deciding vote. Who was that at the time? None other than the Vice President of the United States, Al Gore.

  25. Re:then it just come down to the supreme court pic by Obfuscant · · Score: 1

    Including the remedies in Florida law that the SCOTUS denied Fl the right to undertake? One of those was a full recount of all questionable counties (or something prettty damned close)

    Florida had already defined the electoral process and was following that process, as is the right of the state legislature to define. The federal government had no authority to overturn the state-defined process, nor did the Florida courts on a matter of process.

    The recount was done. The result was certified. The only effect of forcing yet another recount was to delay the result from Florida until after the deadline for the Electoral College vote, effectively disenfranchising every Florida voter.

    Love the GOP - all for "state's rights" until those rights bite them on the butt,

    Florida has the right to determine its electoral process, and did so. It was Gore who was trying to change the process after the vote was counted.

    And gotta love the Dems -- count every vote, until the votes are counted and the Republicans win, then take every vote to court to get it thrown out. Awful butterfly ballots -- that both parties agreed to prior to the election. Awful absentee process -- that both parties agreed to prior to the election. Got a problem with the process? Fix it before the ballots are cast, not after they go against you.

  26. The great American whine by plopez · · Score: 1

    "I'm not responsible"
    (this is where I rant and rave like a lunatic)
    I wish Americans would grow up. They are a bunch of children who are irresponsible, spoiled, pandered to, expect everything handed to them, do not understand basic finance, lazy, and greedy. This is coming from an American who sees this everyday and is disgusted. Instead of fixing the problem you will see companies and lawyers standing around pointing fingers.
    (end of rant)

    --
    putting the 'B' in LGBTQ+
    1. Re:The great American whine by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      True universal health care, proper social security and free education. This might fix most of the problems after seriously pissing off the wealthy elite.

    2. Re:The great American whine by KGIII · · Score: 1

      To be fair, concerning this database being open to the public, I am not responsible.

      Then again, it is public information. We could probably save a bit of time and energy by just making it a publicly available download in a few different formats - from txt to .sql to .csv. Hell, we could even make it downloadable in .pdf format.

      --
      "So long and thanks for all the fish."
  27. this data must be public by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is the basic mechanism by which we have fair and open elections. I'll use California for example, but I think most states are the same or similar. I've been a poll worker, and a poll supervisor and inspector as well.

      Anyone can go down to the local polling place and take a look at the voter rolls for that precinct, which has the name and address of each voter. Furthermore, when you step up to receive your ballot, you have to say your name and address aloud. People come up and show you ID (which is not required) and you have to ask them to say their name and address. That's so an observer (aka poll-watcher) can check off the names on their own copy of the list. If there's a question about who voted in an election (e.g. fewer or more votes cast than people went through the door), the pollwatcher can compare their list against the official list.

    When the polls close for the evening, the pollworkers have to tally up the number of names that signed in to vote against the number of ballots cast. They also have to reconcile the number of ballots they started with, the number spoiled, etc. and make sure it all matches. In practice, you do this a maximum of two times. If you don't reconcile on the first count (not the actual vote counting, just the number of ballots) you do it once more, and if it fails, you all sign a form saying it didn't tally, you box everything up in the locked container and take it to the dispatch point where it gets schlepped to the county headquarters for counting. That's because it's all time critical: you don't want a precinct counting and recounting late into the night. There's another count and reconciliation at the HQ in any case.

    All of this is observable by everyone at every step, from showing that the ballot box is empty in the morning before you lock it to the final sealing and handing over to the delivery people, etc. At no time is there only one person around.

    So a massive subversion of the process is quite difficult: you'd need to suborn lots of poll workers at every polling place (or enough to make a difference), and the odds of that being kept secret are small.

    The voter rolls must be public, for the same reason. You want anyone to be able to verify that John Doe actually lives at 1234 main street by physical observation. In theory, someone who puts a bogus date or address in will be caught by someone who actually knows the truth. It's a sort of "open source software debugging" approach of many eyes looking at the data.

  28. There's a... by ourlovecanlastforeve · · Score: 1

    There's a limited set of people who have access to this database.

    Lets put them all on trial.

  29. Re: Donald Trump in '16! -- Make Mexico pay for th by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Really, this is simple. Get out of nafta, and put customs duties on products imported from Mexico. Put a tax on products exported to Mexico, and tax people going to Mexico. Mexico would pay for it, and we would collect it. Trump unfortunately does not have the guts to do it -- he's all talk and no action.

  30. The Phone Book? by ripvlan · · Score: 1

    There's this other thing called the phone book. Granted it doesn't contain your DOB. But it does have most of your name, address, and phone#.

    I fail to see the importance of this database that these folks found. Yes - your data is out there - companies collect it. It exists, are you surprised? Was a law broken in "leaking" this information (doesn't sound published - more like an accidental leak). In my state it is illegal to post public access into on the web - you have to come get it in person. But I don't know what restrictions exist after that.

    The larger concern from my POV is using this kind of data to build a larger database (like Nexus). My name & address? - send me lots of junk mail. Phone number? Already get plenty of robo-calls. But start opening bank accounts in my name or making purchases - that will be a PITA. It's the criminal activity I worry most about.

    VISA/Mastercard already have a huge pile of data on me. They know what I purchase and how much I spend. I know this because my employer used to buy "your" name & address & income & spending history for mass-marketing campaigns (targeted marketing -- give us 50,000 people who make $80k+/year and spend X dollars at stores like Apple and Williams/Sonoma).

    The fastest way to deal with this is --- delete the database. Fight back, name your children...Little Bobby Tables - https://xkcd.com/327/

    1. Re:The Phone Book? by bigpat · · Score: 1

      I am more concerned that this is public information and it isn't being made available online. Besides an "opt out" provision for your specific address to address the concerns of police officers, judges or anyone who is afraid of stalking or whatever, just like you might have for a telephone directory, this information could be used by individuals, local groups, and others to find people that are registered democrats and registered republicans or independents. This data is already being used to target those individuals based on party affiliation and voting history, but now all the power to do so is controlled by organizations with a big enough bankroll to gather the data and make it available to whomever they choose. And I certainly don't like the big party politics that results from centralized control by a few. Everyone from researchers and students at Universities, to local grass roots activists could use the information to save time and money in their activities. We are already paying for the information to be collected and stored, so why should only the rich and powerful be able to access it?

  31. If no one owns it, delete it. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    So, if no one owns the databases, what's the problem. If no one owns it, delete it. Problem solved. The govn't has too much data as it is.

  32. Re: Great! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oh? Then why did Stalin kill so many of his own people?