The private data of greater than 200,000 individuals in Los Angeles County was probably uncovered after a hacker used a phishing e-mail to steal the login credentials of 53 public well being workers, the county introduced Friday.
Particulars that have been presumably accessed within the February information breach embody the primary and final names, dates of start, diagnoses, prescription data, medical file numbers, medical health insurance data, Social Safety numbers and different monetary data of Division of Public Well being shoppers, workers and different people.
“Affected people could have been impacted in a different way and never the entire parts listed have been current for every particular person,” the company stated in a information launch.
The Division of Public Well being will mail notices to these affected by the breach. Anybody who desires to seek out out if their data was uncovered also can name (866) 898-4312 from 6 a.m. to five p.m. Monday via Friday.
The information breach occurred between Feb. 19 and 20 when workers obtained a phishing e-mail, which tries to trick recipients into offering essential data comparable to passwords and login credentials. The staff clicked on a hyperlink within the physique of the e-mail, considering they have been accessing a reliable message, in line with the company. Further particulars concerning the phishing e-mail weren’t instantly out there.
It isn’t clear when officers turned conscious of the incursion. A division spokesperson didn’t instantly present solutions to emailed questions on Friday.
In response, officers stated they’ve disabled the impacted e-mail accounts, reset units, blocked web sites that have been recognized as being a part of the phishing marketing campaign and quarantined all suspicious incoming emails.
How do you defend your self?
The county is providing free id monitoring via Kroll, a monetary and danger advisory agency, to these affected by the breach.
People whose medical data have been probably accessed by the hacker ought to evaluate them with their physician to make sure the content material is correct and hasn’t been modified. Officers say individuals must also evaluate the Clarification of Advantages assertion they obtain from their insurance coverage firm to verify they acknowledge all of the companies which have been billed.
People also can request credit score reviews and evaluate them for any inaccuracies.
Specialists say the simplest method to block potential use of your Social Safety quantity is to place a freeze in your credit score recordsdata, which is able to forestall anybody from opening a brand new account along with your data. It’s free to put one and you may raise it when that you must. Nonetheless, it’s important to contact every of the three main credit score bureaus individually, which might be achieved on-line.
Occasions deputy editor Jon Healey contributed to this report.
