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Planning staff to stop posting applicant contact details online after phishing incidents
Summary
Staff proposed modifying administrative rules to remove applicant contact information from online case files after reported phishing attempts; staff will post redacted applications and provide contact info on request via planner or front desk.
Planning staff proposed an amendment to the Planning Commission's administrative rules (section 4) to stop posting applicants' contact information directly in online case files after a series of malicious attempts to harvest that data. Michelle (planning staff) told commissioners the website has been targeted by attempts to mine contact information and that at least one applicant had received a fraudulent payment request and paid it. "Our website has recently been the target of malicious attempts to mine contact information from these applicants or applications to use them for phishing purposes," Michelle said.
Under the proposed change, staff would post a redacted version of the application online and keep all other case information (the request and the location) available on the website. Members of the public wishing to contact an applicant would be provided contact information on request through the planner in charge of the case or the department's front desk, Michelle said. The amendment removes specific contact details from the public web view to reduce misuse while preserving public access to case facts and locations.
