New is emerging that in a targets attack by hackers, the state of Montana’s Department of health has been breached – meaning that up to 1.3 million people’s personal data has been compromised as the servers at the Department of Public Health and Human Services were compromised.
Computer Security Solutions learned of the attack from WebHostingNews.com.
According to WHN, the data compromised was extensive – certainly enough to complete a full-blown identity theft:
The information on the compromised servers included names, date of birth, Social Security numbers, bank account information, and addresses, though information on each client is different, said the state. For others, the information contained insurance, prescriptions, diagnoses, birth and death records, and health assessments.
If you live in Montana, we recommend that you contact the Department of Public Health and Human Services to find out if your data was exposed, and to insist on them setting you up with some kind of identity protection service.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we are notifying those whose personal information could have been on the server,” said DPHHS Director Richard Opper. “Again, we have no reports, nor do we have any evidence that anyone’s information was used in any way, or even accessed.”
“I encourage Montanans who are notified to sign up for the free credit monitoring and insurance that is being provided.”
In 2013, Montana upgraded its insurance policy to include cyber data security coverage that cover up to $2 million in costs associated with services such as free credit monitoring.
Details of the data-breach can be found here – at the Montana Public Health and Human Services website.