Just one mistake can lead to identity theft. According to the Liberty Coalition's Aaron Titus, the social security numbers of almost 3,000 Maryland residents were posted online and remained visible for weeks. After discovering the breach, Titus notified the state Department of Human Resources, which subsequently launched an investigation that found that one of its employees had transferred the social security numbers to the site.

Titus says the employee stored the social security numbers in an unprotected folder, making them available to anyone with an Internet connection. The social security numbers have since been removed from the Web site, and search engines have been contacted to ensure that the numbers are not being stored.

Titus says the security breach underscores the need for government agencies to take responsibility for the data they store. Titus says the incident is a reminder that governments should use other ways besides social security numbers to identify people. As our society becomes more technologically dependent, we must always be on guard and constantly improve our security systems to close off such vulnerabilities.