If government agencies were not already in hot waters with the entirety of America, the actions from the California DMV have certainly pushed them over the edge. Recently, the Department of Motor Vehicles inappropriately leaked confidential information with regard to individuals who are potentially under criminal investigation to seven government agencies.
To government institutions, the words “confidential” and “private” have lost all meaning especially after the behavior of the California DMV. The information leaked comprised of Social Security information such as the eligibility of a person to receive a SSN or the validity of a driver’s SSN—all information meant to be kept within the department.
Moreover, the 3,200 individuals affected had a prior history of being inspected by the district attorneys of San Diego or Santa Clara. As a result of the egregious mistake, around 200 of these affected individuals had their information released to the Department of Homeland Security. As a futile and pathetic tactic to repair the damage, the DMV has sent out letters informing the individuals of the cease of their investigation after further research.
As meager of an effort the letters are, it does not detract from the fact that the DMV inappropriately released citizens’ confidential information. The damage is irreversible and the confidential information of 3,200 citizens now rests in the wrong hands. The display of incompetence on their behalf only justifies the ever-growing skepticism that American citizens have regarding government agencies.
The carelessness along with the lack of attention to detail is dismantling any remaining credibility that government agencies, such as the DMV, have and moreover, illustrating the consistent trend of power abuse seen by governmental bodies. The cynicism from Americans with respect to government agencies is rising and based on the recent behavior of agencies, those feelings will not be dwindling any time soon.
