Florida law enforcement agencies are investigating the potential criminal misuse of state Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis’ driver’s license information, state officials said Friday.
First reported by Florida Politics, officials with the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles said they received an inquiry that a record had potentially been improperly obtained. The agency also stressed it has not experienced a widespread data breach.
“The department is absolutely committed to protecting customers’ personal identifying information and continues to take all necessary steps to ensure customer safety and security are maintained,” department Executive Director Terry Rhodes said in a statement Friday.
Rhodes’ department is coordinating the investigation with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. According to DHSMV records, the agency has terminated a memorandum of understanding for drivers’ license and motor vehicle data exchanges with Miami-based Unisoft Communication Inc. and “at this time” is not considering the company’s request for a corrective action plan.
“We are pleased to hear that the recent identity theft that targeted driving records of CFO Jimmy Patronis is being criminally investigated,” Patronis’ spokeswoman Anna Alexopoulos Farrar said in a statement. “Our department is working with all those who are investigating this matter to provide any information they may need. The CFO has already taken extra measures to secure his personal information from future criminal attempts to misuse it.”
This article appears in Jun 13-19, 2018.