DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. (WXYZ) — The personal information of hundreds of children was exposed online after city officials in Dearborn Heights accidentally published sensitive data on the city's website.
Watch Ruta Ulcinaite's video report:
The children are all connected to a local nonprofit sports club, and parents are demanding answers as officials engage in finger-pointing over who's responsible.
Names, addresses, and birthdays of children were made public by the City of Dearborn Heights. Parents are concerned about who had access to this information and what they might do with it.
"That's what's scary...there's no way to tell how many people have this information," said Sara Short, mother of a 13-year-old who participates in multiple sports with the nonprofit District 7 Dad's Club.
The club is a community staple that allows hundreds of children in the area to play sports at a low cost.
FULL INTERVIEW: Parent Sara Short talks about data breach
"It definitely keeps them out of trouble, it keeps them engaged, it keeps their friendships going," Short said.
Parents were shocked to discover their children's personal information was posted by the city to their meeting agenda minutes online last week. The information remained publicly accessible until a parent noticed it and it was taken down about 24 hours later.
"I guarantee you every one of us parents have thought of every scenario that could go wrong," Short said. When asked what scenarios concerned her most, she replied, "The predators in the area."
The club, which had to submit the information of their athletes to the city for a reimbursement check, provided a statement saying:
The District 7 Dad’s Club Board of Directors holds the safety and security of its athletes at the utmost important level. We follow required procedures, described by the city of Dearborn Heights to receive our seasonal funding. The mayor has assured us that this matter is under investigation and will never happen again.
When 7 News Detroit went to city hall to investigate, the city clerk explained that multiple departments review agenda items before they're posted online, and acknowledged the mistake.
"I totally agree with them, it was wrong," said Lynne Senia, Dearborn Heights city clerk.
City Council Chairman Mo Baydoun claims the final review and approval belonged to the mayor.
“I can’t put the blame on any of these departments. What I can tell you is this goes through the administration, and the administration should’ve caught this," Baydoun said.
The mayor, however, said the council chair is the last person to review agenda items, stating in a statement:
The way the process works, the finance office puts the invoices that are submitted by individual departments. The clerk reviews and sends to the Council Chair (Mohammad Baydoun (MO). He reviews and approves the agenda for the Council meetings. Mohammad is the last person to review and approve every item on the agenda. We are still investigating.
With officials pointing fingers at each other, parents are left wondering how their children will be protected going forward.
"What policies are they gonna put in place to make sure that this never happens again? Because it's a violation of so many different things," Short said.
The issue is expected to be a major topic at the next special meeting at City Hall next Tuesday, where residents will have an opportunity to voice their concerns.
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