Florida prison email blunder exposes visitor contact info to inmates
(2025/08/01)
- Reference: 1754053213
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2025/08/01/florida_prison_email_blunder/
- Source link:
A data breach at a Florida prison has inmates' families concerned for their welfare after their contact details were allegedly leaked to convicted criminals.
An Everglades Correctional Institution (ECI) staffer sent an email to every prison inmate on July 24 containing the contact details of their fellow jailbirds' visitors, the [1]Florida Phoenix reported.
Prisoners are able to access emails via kiosks and secure tablets in the facility.
[2]
The allegedly leaked contact details of visitors included names, email addresses, and phone numbers, leaving many concerned for their own welfare, as well as that of their locked-up relatives.
[3]
[4]
Five people told the regional news outlet that the prison had informed them of the data leak, including Jan Thompson who fears being extorted.
She said: "What if there's some inmate that doesn't like another inmate? And he tells his family, 'Okay, here's his wife's phone number. Call her and tell her if she doesn't pay and put $500 on my book, I'm going to have her husband stabbed and killed.' What's stopping them from doing that?"
[5]
Others, such as Patrice Kelly, were especially upset about the alleged leak due to her history of dealing with a stalker.
Kelly told the Phoenix that she had gone to great lengths to scrub her digital footprint from the web following her stalking ordeal, only for her data to potentially end up in the hands of criminals anyway.
The Register contacted Florida's Department of Corrections for more information. The Phoenix reported that its attempts to reach the authority went unanswered.
[6]Trump officials float plan for Americans to share their medical data more freely
[7]Majority of 1.4M customers caught in Allianz Life data heist
[8]US spy satellite agency breached, but insists no classified secrets spilled
[9]Eau no! Dior tells customers their data was swiped in cyber snafu
News of sensitive data being leaked by official sources via email has unfortunately been a semi-frequent occurrence in recent years, especially in the UK.
The most notable case relates to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). In August 2023, a police employee accidentally leaked the personal information of nearly 10,000 staff members, including active duty police officers, via an email response to a Freedom of Information request.
[10]
The complex political history of the region made the leak particularly alarming for those affected. An [11]official review into the incident later that year revealed the organization's welfare services were stretched as a result, and an undisclosed number of officers relocated out of safety concerns.
Earlier this year, two male members of the New IRA were [12]charged under the Terrorism Act 2000 after being found in possession of the leaked data, which had been shared "a considerable amount of times."
Similar incidents occurred at numerous other [13]British cop shops , [14]local councils , and [15]NHS Trusts . ®
Get our [16]Tech Resources
[1] https://floridaphoenix.com/2025/07/29/florida-prison-data-breach-exposes-visitors-contact-information-to-inmates/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aIzklSyOs7CxP-czG1GvaQAAAM0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aIzklSyOs7CxP-czG1GvaQAAAM0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aIzklSyOs7CxP-czG1GvaQAAAM0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aIzklSyOs7CxP-czG1GvaQAAAM0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/31/trump_medical_records_share/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/28/allianz_life_data_breach/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/28/infosec_in_brief/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/24/eau_no_dior_tells_customers/
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aIzklSyOs7CxP-czG1GvaQAAAM0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/12/psni_data_breach_forces_officers/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/14/two_charged_psni_data/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2023/08/15/norfolk_and_suffolk_police_data_breach/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/06/southend_council_foi_leak/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/07/losing_track_yet_yet_another/
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
An Everglades Correctional Institution (ECI) staffer sent an email to every prison inmate on July 24 containing the contact details of their fellow jailbirds' visitors, the [1]Florida Phoenix reported.
Prisoners are able to access emails via kiosks and secure tablets in the facility.
[2]
The allegedly leaked contact details of visitors included names, email addresses, and phone numbers, leaving many concerned for their own welfare, as well as that of their locked-up relatives.
[3]
[4]
Five people told the regional news outlet that the prison had informed them of the data leak, including Jan Thompson who fears being extorted.
She said: "What if there's some inmate that doesn't like another inmate? And he tells his family, 'Okay, here's his wife's phone number. Call her and tell her if she doesn't pay and put $500 on my book, I'm going to have her husband stabbed and killed.' What's stopping them from doing that?"
[5]
Others, such as Patrice Kelly, were especially upset about the alleged leak due to her history of dealing with a stalker.
Kelly told the Phoenix that she had gone to great lengths to scrub her digital footprint from the web following her stalking ordeal, only for her data to potentially end up in the hands of criminals anyway.
The Register contacted Florida's Department of Corrections for more information. The Phoenix reported that its attempts to reach the authority went unanswered.
[6]Trump officials float plan for Americans to share their medical data more freely
[7]Majority of 1.4M customers caught in Allianz Life data heist
[8]US spy satellite agency breached, but insists no classified secrets spilled
[9]Eau no! Dior tells customers their data was swiped in cyber snafu
News of sensitive data being leaked by official sources via email has unfortunately been a semi-frequent occurrence in recent years, especially in the UK.
The most notable case relates to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). In August 2023, a police employee accidentally leaked the personal information of nearly 10,000 staff members, including active duty police officers, via an email response to a Freedom of Information request.
[10]
The complex political history of the region made the leak particularly alarming for those affected. An [11]official review into the incident later that year revealed the organization's welfare services were stretched as a result, and an undisclosed number of officers relocated out of safety concerns.
Earlier this year, two male members of the New IRA were [12]charged under the Terrorism Act 2000 after being found in possession of the leaked data, which had been shared "a considerable amount of times."
Similar incidents occurred at numerous other [13]British cop shops , [14]local councils , and [15]NHS Trusts . ®
Get our [16]Tech Resources
[1] https://floridaphoenix.com/2025/07/29/florida-prison-data-breach-exposes-visitors-contact-information-to-inmates/
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2aIzklSyOs7CxP-czG1GvaQAAAM0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aIzklSyOs7CxP-czG1GvaQAAAM0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
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[5] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44aIzklSyOs7CxP-czG1GvaQAAAM0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/31/trump_medical_records_share/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/28/allianz_life_data_breach/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/28/infosec_in_brief/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2025/07/24/eau_no_dior_tells_customers/
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_security/front&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33aIzklSyOs7CxP-czG1GvaQAAAM0&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/12/psni_data_breach_forces_officers/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2025/02/14/two_charged_psni_data/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2023/08/15/norfolk_and_suffolk_police_data_breach/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/06/southend_council_foi_leak/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2023/12/07/losing_track_yet_yet_another/
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/