Fired worker speaks in Georgia voter data breach

The employee fired after being blamed for a massive data breach at the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office said Wednesday he has been made a scapegoat by the agency.

In an exclusive interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, longtime state programmer Gary Cooley said he did not have the security access to add millions of Social Security numbers and birth dates to a public data file — something Secretary of State Brian Kemp accused him of doing.

And while he acknowledged a role in the gaffe, he also outlined a more complicated series of missteps and miscommunication both within the office and with PCC Technology Group, an outside vendor tasked with managing voter data for the state.

"I just want to clear my name and get the story correct," Cooley said. "Today, I told the absolute truth. I guess it's easy for them — anything that is negative, it would be easy to just pile on me."

To read more about what Cooley said in our exclusive interview, look for updates on www.myajc.com.

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Kristina Torres

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