Florida prison data breach exposes visitorsâ contact information to inmates Business miamitimesonlinecom
pppSunshine and clouds mixed High near 85F Winds NE at 10 to 15 mph
ppA few clouds Low around 75F Winds NE at 10 to 15 mphpp Updated October 13 2025 752 amppNew York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted Thursday in a mortgage fraud case that President Donald Trump urged his Justice Department to bring after vowing retribution against some of his biggest political enemies ppIn Miami Gardens a cruel nickname lingers âMurder Gardensâ Itâs a label that reduces an entire community to tragedy when in reality the streets are full of families who love their children and are doing everything they can to give them a shot at something better Behind every statistic ppFederal regulators have opened yet another investigation into Teslaâs selfdriving feature after dozens of incidents in which the cars ran red lights or drove on the wrong side of the road sometimes crashing into other vehicles and causing injuries ppA defamation lawsuit that Drake brought against Universal Music Group was tossed out Thursday by a federal judge who said the lyrics in Kendrick Lamarâs dis track âNot Like Usâ were opinion ppppDozens and perhaps hundreds of individuals who applied to visit inmates at Everglades Correctional Institution ECI in MiamiDade County last weekend had their personal contact information shared with every inmate at that facility according to five different individuals who have spoken to the Phoenix over the past four daysppThe Florida Department of Corrections has not commented publicly about the incident since it occurred last weekppThat data breach has frightened and infuriated some of the women who had their names email addresses and telephone numbers released to those incarcerated at the prison located near the Florida EvergladesppInmates received that information via an email sent out by a staff member of the facility on Thursday Florida inmates have access to emails through both interactive kiosks as well as secure tabletsppâItâs kind of disturbing when you think about itâ said Madeline Donate who regularly visits her husband at the prison âThe privacy aspect of this is concerning This is how other inmates get information and can sometimes extort family members and things like that Itâs concerningâppJan Thompson said she fears extortionppâWhat if thereâs some inmate that doesnât like another inmateâ she said âAnd he tells his family âOkay hereâs his wifeâs phone number Call her and tell her if she doesnât pay and put 500 on my book Iâm going to have her husband stabbed and killedâ Whatâs stopping them from doing thatâppInmates can receive funds for deposit into their âinmate trust accountsâ from individuals already identified on the inmateâs automated visiting recordppIndividuals who intend to visit an inmate in one of Floridaâs prisons must fill out an application form every time they intend to make such a visit â a policy introduced during the COVID19 pandemic in 2020 Previously once an individual was approved by the FDC they could just show up during visitation hoursppVisitors who spoke to the Phoenix said that policy made sense during the pandemic as the department needed to control the number of visitors consistent with social distancing protocols However those protocols have long since been discardedppIndividuals who had their personal contact information exposed were unhappy that as of Monday morning no one from the Florida Department of Corrections had acknowledged the data breach to them personallyppâThey have yet to notify me that my personal information has been exposed to 1600 inmates That is unbelievableâ Thompson said adding that she doubted that would be the situation had the contact information of staff members inadvertently been sent to prisonersppDenise Rock executive director of the prisoner advocacy group Florida Cares said her organizationâs main concern is not with the institution but the visitation process which she said is duplicative and led to the data breachppâWe urge the department to discontinue requiring alreadyapproved visitors to register and release their private information each time they do soâ she said in a text messageppâWhen the Florida Department of Corrections put the signup process in place permanently we had many concerns The limitations and restrictions it placed on the families were burdensome but this breach of privacy leads to safety concerns for the families â further highlighting why this practice should be discontinued immediately If it happened this time which is one too many times it can surely happen againâppOCTOBER 814 2025pp91 died October 5 at Home Viewing 57 p Read moreMOTHER NETTIE BEASLEY MONDSpp 83 truck driver died September 28 at Me Read moreEDWARD WILLIAM JOHNSONpp74 certified nursing assistant died Sept Read moreBLANCHE NORWOODpp70 transit mechanic died September 29 at Read moreJOEY BROOKSppPeriodicals Postage paid at Buena Vista Station Miami FL 331270200
United States Postal Service Postal Registration Number 344340 as required for public notices per section 500111e FSppYour browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risksWe recommend switching to one of the following browsersppPlease disable your ad blocker whitelist our site or purchase a subscriptionp
ppA few clouds Low around 75F Winds NE at 10 to 15 mphpp Updated October 13 2025 752 amppNew York Attorney General Letitia James was indicted Thursday in a mortgage fraud case that President Donald Trump urged his Justice Department to bring after vowing retribution against some of his biggest political enemies ppIn Miami Gardens a cruel nickname lingers âMurder Gardensâ Itâs a label that reduces an entire community to tragedy when in reality the streets are full of families who love their children and are doing everything they can to give them a shot at something better Behind every statistic ppFederal regulators have opened yet another investigation into Teslaâs selfdriving feature after dozens of incidents in which the cars ran red lights or drove on the wrong side of the road sometimes crashing into other vehicles and causing injuries ppA defamation lawsuit that Drake brought against Universal Music Group was tossed out Thursday by a federal judge who said the lyrics in Kendrick Lamarâs dis track âNot Like Usâ were opinion ppppDozens and perhaps hundreds of individuals who applied to visit inmates at Everglades Correctional Institution ECI in MiamiDade County last weekend had their personal contact information shared with every inmate at that facility according to five different individuals who have spoken to the Phoenix over the past four daysppThe Florida Department of Corrections has not commented publicly about the incident since it occurred last weekppThat data breach has frightened and infuriated some of the women who had their names email addresses and telephone numbers released to those incarcerated at the prison located near the Florida EvergladesppInmates received that information via an email sent out by a staff member of the facility on Thursday Florida inmates have access to emails through both interactive kiosks as well as secure tabletsppâItâs kind of disturbing when you think about itâ said Madeline Donate who regularly visits her husband at the prison âThe privacy aspect of this is concerning This is how other inmates get information and can sometimes extort family members and things like that Itâs concerningâppJan Thompson said she fears extortionppâWhat if thereâs some inmate that doesnât like another inmateâ she said âAnd he tells his family âOkay hereâs his wifeâs phone number Call her and tell her if she doesnât pay and put 500 on my book Iâm going to have her husband stabbed and killedâ Whatâs stopping them from doing thatâppInmates can receive funds for deposit into their âinmate trust accountsâ from individuals already identified on the inmateâs automated visiting recordppIndividuals who intend to visit an inmate in one of Floridaâs prisons must fill out an application form every time they intend to make such a visit â a policy introduced during the COVID19 pandemic in 2020 Previously once an individual was approved by the FDC they could just show up during visitation hoursppVisitors who spoke to the Phoenix said that policy made sense during the pandemic as the department needed to control the number of visitors consistent with social distancing protocols However those protocols have long since been discardedppIndividuals who had their personal contact information exposed were unhappy that as of Monday morning no one from the Florida Department of Corrections had acknowledged the data breach to them personallyppâThey have yet to notify me that my personal information has been exposed to 1600 inmates That is unbelievableâ Thompson said adding that she doubted that would be the situation had the contact information of staff members inadvertently been sent to prisonersppDenise Rock executive director of the prisoner advocacy group Florida Cares said her organizationâs main concern is not with the institution but the visitation process which she said is duplicative and led to the data breachppâWe urge the department to discontinue requiring alreadyapproved visitors to register and release their private information each time they do soâ she said in a text messageppâWhen the Florida Department of Corrections put the signup process in place permanently we had many concerns The limitations and restrictions it placed on the families were burdensome but this breach of privacy leads to safety concerns for the families â further highlighting why this practice should be discontinued immediately If it happened this time which is one too many times it can surely happen againâppOCTOBER 814 2025pp91 died October 5 at Home Viewing 57 p Read moreMOTHER NETTIE BEASLEY MONDSpp 83 truck driver died September 28 at Me Read moreEDWARD WILLIAM JOHNSONpp74 certified nursing assistant died Sept Read moreBLANCHE NORWOODpp70 transit mechanic died September 29 at Read moreJOEY BROOKSppPeriodicals Postage paid at Buena Vista Station Miami FL 331270200
United States Postal Service Postal Registration Number 344340 as required for public notices per section 500111e FSppYour browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risksWe recommend switching to one of the following browsersppPlease disable your ad blocker whitelist our site or purchase a subscriptionp
