To reduce the risk of identity theft, dozens of government agencies should reduce use of personal information and create new safeguards to protect data such as Social Security numbers, a report by the Hawai'i Identity Theft Task Force says.

The 23-member panel surveyed all state and county agencies over the past year, finding "an absence of comprehensive administrative, technical and physical safeguards covering privacy and security of personal information."

Eighty-five state and county agencies maintain 20 million to 30 million records containing personal information, according to the report.

Training on handling and security "often is, at best, information," and only one-fourth of the 85 agencies had mandatory employee training on the appropriate use and disclosure of personal information, the task force found.

"Nearly all of the agencies surveyed reported transmitting information outside the organization," according to the report. "Just over one-half have specific procedures for concealing or redacting personal information on paper documents, and less than one-half reported technical safeguards in place for electronic transmission of information or storage of personal information on laptop computers or removable storage devices."

The task force recommended that government agencies: