Apology letters sent out following Sumner data breach
A temporary municipal court clerk in Sumner sent hundreds of city files to her personal computer.
SUMNER-- The City of Sumner is mailing letters to 3,600 residents today, warning them of a security breach.
According to Sumner spokesperson Carmen Palmer, a temporary municipal court clerk sent hundreds of city files to her personal computer, including resident names, addresses and dates of birth. The files did not include any financial information.
The City of Sumner is contacting each individual on the list, apologizing for the situation.
The breach was discovered on Dec. 16.
The employee told police that she wanted to learn more about her job and had planned to review the information at home.
"The big information to add is that today we received the results on the forensic analysis of her personal computer, and they confirmed she did not access the data emailed on her personal system," said Palmer.
"While we're thankful this incident did not compromise anyone's financial information, any personal information leaving our control gives us great concern, " said Police Chief Brad Moericke. "We're hoping, as she claimed, that this was just a stupid mistake made by an overzealous individual, but we're not taking any chances."
The employee has been terminated. The case is still being investigated, and the Pierce County Prosecutor will decide if formal charges will be filed.