The Everglades Correctional Institution (ECI) in Miami-Dade County has leaked the names, email addresses, and telephone numbers of visitors to the facility to every inmate.
The inmates received an email last week sent by a staff member that included the personal information of the visitors. Inmates can access their emails through secure tablets or kiosks at the facility. It is unclear yet whether it was an accidental or deliberate leak.
Those affected by this data breach feel frightened and infuriated, especially the women. That reaction is perfectly understandable: Imagine discovering that someone shared your contact details with every inmate in a correctional institution.
Madeline Donate, who regularly visits her husband at the prison, told the Florida Phoenix:
“It’s kind of disturbing when you think about it. The privacy aspect of this is concerning. This is how other inmates get information and can sometimes extort family members and things like that. It’s concerning.”
Another visitor, Jan Thompson, spoke of her fears:
“What if there’s some inmate that doesn’t like another inmate? And he tells his family, ‘Okay, here’s his wife’s phone number. Call her and tell her if she doesn’t pay and put $500 on my book, I’m going to have her husband stabbed and killed.’ What’s stopping them from doing that?”
The way this came about demands an explanation. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a policy was introduced where visitors had to fill out an application form every time they intend to visit. Before the introduction of that policy, a visitor—once approved– could just show up during visitation hours. While the policy made sense at the time, the underlying protocols have long been discarded, but the policy was left in place.
Patrice Kelly says she had already removed most of her digital footprint from the internet after having a problem with a stalker in her immediate past. Now her personal contact information has been released to every other inmate at ECI.
She stated:
“Unfortunately, people in Florida that are at that institution now have my information. I don’t live in Florida anymore, so that’s a good thing. It only takes somebody saying, this is where this person lives.”
Denise Rock, executive director of the prisoner advocacy group Florida Cares, said her organization’s main concern is not with the institution but the visitation process, which she said is duplicative and led to the data breach.
“We urge the department to discontinue requiring already-approved visitors to register and release their private information each time they do so.”
The Florida Department of Corrections has not commented publicly about the incident.
Advice
Remaining cautious and proactive helps limit the risk of further exposure or harm resulting from this data breach. When additional details become available about how the breach occurred or what steps the Department of Corrections is taking, there might be more tailored recommendations available.
Some tips that might be helpful:
- Be cautious when receiving any unexpected communications (calls, messages, emails) from unknown numbers or individuals who reference your personal connection to an incarcerated person. Do not engage in conversations before confirming the source through other channels.
- If you receive any harassment, threats, or inappropriate contact from current or former inmates, notify prison authorities immediately and consider reporting to the police.
- Reach out to the Florida Department of Corrections to request removal or restriction of your contact details from visitation records where feasible, and ask what steps they are taking to prevent further incidents.
- Do not share further personal information. Avoid sharing additional personal details publicly on social media or online directories that could be linked to your exposed information. You can check what information is already out there about you by using our free Digital Footprint Scanner.
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