Unions are failing to protect the privacy of members from hackers

Originally published by Penn Live.

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) recently sued the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) over concerns about Elon Musk’s crew gaining access to the personal information of union members. In a statement, AFT President Randi Weingarten said union members “expect that data to be protected and used for the reasons it was intended, not appropriated for other means.” She, moreover, highlighted the need for “a firewall between actors [who] … lack the legitimacy and authority to access Americans’ personal data and are using it inappropriately, without any safeguards.” 

However, judging by recent events, union bosses like Weingarten should focus less on DOGE and more on what’s happening within their organizations, such as the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA). 

It took PSEA, the state’s largest teacher union, more than eight months to fess up to a dark web cyber breach. Hackers, on July 6, 2024, accessed more than 500,000 people’s personal information, including driver’s licenses, social security numbers, banking and medical information, and passport numbers. 

Read more at Penn Live.