If you believe your information may have been affected by a data breach, please call us at 1-888-330-2852.
DALLAS — Dallas County officials confirmed this week that a ransomware attack in October exposed personal information, including Social Security numbers, medical information and health insurance information, of more than 200,000 people.
According to a notice posted Wednesday on the Texas Attorney General’s website, 67,701 Texans were affected by the data breach and notifications were provided to consumers.
County officials said they became aware of the incident on Oct. 19, took steps to contain it, began working with third-party cybersecurity experts to investigate the incident, and began notifying affected people on July 10. Those affected will be eligible to receive two years of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services.
A ransomware cybercrime group known as “Play” claimed responsibility for the cyberattack in November, and data allegedly stolen during that attack was published online. Since the cyberattack, the county says it has implemented new measures to protect the data, including requiring password changes and blocking suspicious IP addresses.
“There are several reasons why the County retains information about individuals. They may be residents or employees, and may have received services from or interacted with our agencies (e.g., Department of Health and Human Services). Additionally, the County has data sharing agreements with other organizations to improve the services we provide to our residents and the public,” a notice on the County’s website about the information that may be involved reads. “The information affected by this incident will vary depending on the individual and their relationship to the County, but primarily involves the following information: Name, Social Security Number (SSN), Date of Birth, Driver’s License/State Identification Number, and Taxpayer Identification Number. Depending on the individual, certain types of medical information (e.g., diagnosis or medical condition information) and health insurance information may be involved.”
If you believe your information may have been affected by a data breach, please call us at 1-888-330-2852.
This isn’t the first cybersecurity issue to affect Dallas: Last May, the city was hit by a ransomware attack that took down city systems for several months and exposed the personal information of more than 30,000 people connected to the system.
