MN Vehicle Office To Close After Unauthorized Data Access: State

MINNESOTA — Five employees at two state Department of Vehicle Services (DVS) offices lost their access to Minnesota driver and vehicle data after audits found they had abused their power, state officials announced Wednesday.

An audit at the Fairfax Deputy Registrar office was triggered when one employee used another employee's database credentials, which is illegal, officials said. That audit found that two employees at the Fairfax office accessed driver-related data without a "lawful business purpose," according to the DVS.

Because those two people were the only employees of the Fairfax office, that office must close until new employees can be hired and trained to access driver and vehicle data.

North Mankato Deputy Registrar

A self-search by an employee triggered an audit at the DVS' North Mankato office, authorities said. That audit found that three of the five employees of the office accessed several driver’s licenses and motor vehicle records without a lawful business purpose, according to officials.

"It is illegal for a person with access to state driver and vehicle data to perform a search on themselves or anyone else without a lawful business purpose," state officials said in a news release.

"The revocations leave two employees at the North Mankato office with access to DPS-DVS data. It is not clear how this action will affect services provided by the North Mankato deputy registrar office."