DVS: Private vehicle registration data inadvertently sent to three companies
(FOX 9) - The addresses of approximately 1,500 vehicle owners in Minnesota were inadvertently sent to three companies, despite the vehicle owners’ request the data be kept private, state officials said last month.
People who register their vehicle in the state of Minnesota are allowed under state law to request their name and addresses be kept private from companies who buy vehicle data from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety Division of Vehicle Services.
On Dec. 28, DVS sent a letter to affected vehicle owners informing them their addresses were included in “bulk motor vehicle files” that were inadvertently sent to three companies: Experian, Polk and Safety First. All three companies were authorized to receive the data, which they reportedly use to administer public safety recalls, among other things.
Officials maintain this was not a data breach and that no private data was accessed or used illegally.
"Making sure that certain data are private is a responsibility we take very seriously," Bruce Gordon, the direction of communications for the Department of Public Safety, said in an email.
The information in the bulk motor vehicle file is updated daily and provided to authorized users under state law. DVS says it with Minnesota IT Services to remove the motor vehicle records of those people who requested their data be classified as private so they will no longer be sent to those three companies.