Texas Lottery Winners’ Data Was Copied

AUSTIN (AP) – A former Texas Lottery Commission computer analyst said he accidentally copied the personal data of more than 27,000 Texas lottery winners, but Lottery officials say they’ll wait for a criminal investigation before making any changes to security systems.

“As in any business, we look at processes where we may or may not need to improve. Whether this is one of them or not, I’m not aware that there’s any current process going on to look at IT security. The investigation will answer those types of questions,” commission spokesman Bobby Heith said in Tuesday’s online edition of The Dallas Morning News.

The 39-year-old unidentified former Lottery employee, of Austin, said he downloaded his own work files off his computer and took them to his next job, according to a search warrant.

The names and Social Security numbers of 27,075 mid-level lottery winners – people who have won prizes from $600 up to around $1 million – were on the employee’s hard drive. Also included were the names, Social Security numbers and, in some cases, bank routing and account numbers of 639 current and former commission employees and 534 lottery retailers.

There have been no reports that the information has been used inappropriately, but in a letter sent out on Sept. 11, commission officials advised that the recipients put a fraud alert on their credit reports and check their bank statements.

The investigation is being handled by the Travis County District Attorney’s office and the Texas Comptroller’s Office, where the employee worked until recently.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)