Did KDOL downplay cyber risks as KS ranks #2 for identity fraud?

Photo credit: Charlie Riedel, AP

Lawmakers are raising the alarm that Democrat Governor Laura Kelly’s Department of Labor is “downplaying and lying” about the risk of a data breach, according to a new report from the Topeka Capital-Journal.

For years, Kelly’s Department of Labor has been adamant its data was not breached, but lawmakers say the results of the state’s confidential cybersecurity audit of KDOL showed just how easily the system could have been breached and that the department may not have been able to tell if it had. Meanwhile, Kansas has the second highest complaint rate for identity theft in the country.

“Kansas has the second highest rate of identity theft in the country, and now it turns out Laura Kelly’s Department of Labor repeatedly lied to lawmakers and Kansans about the risk of a data breach,” said RGA spokesperson Joanna Rodriguez. “Kelly’s mismanagement of KDOL has been something to behold, but covering up of a possible data breach in an election year as Kansans suffer from identity theft would be a next-level violation of their trust and failure of leadership.”