news-record.com

The Guilford County Register of Deeds office seems an odd target for Internet safety expert Linda Criddle. At last week's commissioners meeting, the Washington state resident recommended that the county pull the plug on online records over concerns for potential identity theft.

Damaging information used to steal someone's identity could be obtained at the deeds office itself or on the Web site -- primarily Social Security numbers. However, identity thieves are more likely to get what they want by sifting through discarded documents such as bank statements and credit card receipts or by searching online financial transaction sites.

And Guilford Register of Deeds Jeff Thigpen leads his counterparts in the state's other 99 counties in redacting from online documents as much personal information as state law allows. The ongoing deletion process should be completed within several months.

In fact, the state clearly dictates how registers of deeds record property and vital statistics and how they make them available, including online. Furthermore, individuals can ask that information be removed from those Web sites, in accordance with state law. Seldom are such requests received.

Sooner than later, the General Assembly, the attorney general and secretary of state must join with registers of deeds in updating procedures governing online dissemination of records to satisfy 21st century technology.

It would be a mistake, as Criddle suggested, to shut down online access to the county's vital and property records. Thigpen says that each month more than 9,000 people search his office's Internet site. Serving even a portion of them in person would require additional personnel at a time when the county is cutting back.

While hazards exist, Thigpen has been a leader in confronting security issues. Now, the state should take the initiative and address those concerns.