Not long ago in Washington DC, two federal judges addressed the Judicial Conference Committee on the Budget to request additional funding for security. They petitioned for a 7.2% increase in the current Judiciary budget of $8.6 million for investment in IT modernization and cybersecurity.
“A combination of constant technical innovation and long-term underinvestment has left a number of our major systems and applications out of date and, thus, inefficient, difficult to maintain, and at regular risk of failure,” said U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Amy J. St. Eve. “[E]ven our newer IT assets face security risks as the threat environment is constantly evolving and increasing in sophistication.”
The judge also specifically cited “online availability of personal information that might put judges and their families at risk.”
It is not clear yet whether the budget allocated for judicial protection will receive the requested increase, but any court or judge that is concerned about personal security can take action right now to make sure their home address and phone number is not accessible online.
Not a week goes by at 360Civic in which our IronWall360 privacy team is not busy registering more judges, taking meetings with courts throughout the US, and renewing memberships from those currently enrolled in our online privacy protection program.
Is the danger real? Imagine imposing a sentence, and having the defendant's daughter tweet a link to your home address.
Or perhaps it falls to you to rule on the legality of a government edict impacting a controversial topic like abortion or immigration.
Whichever way you rule, those on the opposing side may express their anger outside your front door.
We’ve seen it happen multiple times this past year.
Legislation is imminent that protects judges nationwide from having their home information listed on websites. However, most sites ignore the law until someone orders them to comply. That’s what we do.
The IronWall360 team has found and removed more than one million home addresses listed online for our public servant clients, allowing us to successfully protect judges, law enforcement, and social workers and their families for over ten years.
