Data Breach Within State's Health & Human Services Dept.
LANSING (WWJ) - A stolen computer turns into a security breach at a state agency.
The breach affectied a program within the Department of Health and Human Services. A laptop computer along with a flash drive were stolen from the car of a state employee in late January.
"And we determined there were 2,595 both living and deceased individuals whose information was on that flash drive," says Angela Minnicuci, spokesperson with the Department of Community Health.
Minnicuci says names, birth dates and even some social security numbers were on that flash drive.
"The flash drive, in total, contained names and addresses for most individuals, but 1,539 of those individuals also contained either a social security number or a Medicaid identification number," says Minnicuci.
The information belonged to people who were part of the department's long-term care program under the Ombudsman's office.
"The laptop was encrypted, but the flash drive contained protective health information that was not encrypted," she says.
Free credit monitoring is being offered to people whose Social Security numbers or Medicaid numbers were compromised.
