What is a Data Valdez?
A data Valdez, also called a data leak, is a term used to describe the accidental publishing of private information online. This problem has happened several times since the advent of the internet, and is potentially dangerous to the victims. Personal information, search records and health records have all been published through data Valdez incidents. Usually, the leaks are a result of either programming errors or the work of hackers. The term, data Valdez, refers to the infamous oil spill caused by the oil tanker the Exxon Valdez. In this incident, over ten million gallons of oil were spilled into the Prince William Sound off the coast of Alaska. Like the oil spill, a data Valdez is impossible to get back once the leak has occurred. One of the earliest large-scale incidents of a data Valdez was in 2005, when a laptop was stolen from an Ameriprise Financial employee. The laptop was discovered to contain about 260,000 confidential customer records including account records. In August 20
