ATHENS, OHIO / ACCESS Newswire / February 7, 2025 / Athens County Board of Developmental Disabilities
What Happened
On May 28, 2024, Athens County Board of Developmental Disabilities (ACBDD) became aware of technical issues related to our server. Upon discovery, we took immediate action to investigate the incident and secure our systems. We retained outside cyber counsel, as well as independent IT forensics specialists (at the direction of counsel) with expertise to investigate the incident. A thorough investigation revealed that an unauthorized actor gained access to our systems for a limited time between May 24-25, 2024. After a detailed review of the data involved, it was determined that the unauthorized actor acquired certain protected health information and personal information.
What Information was Involved
The personal information involved is first and last name combined with driver license numbers and/or Social Security numbers. For some clients, protected health information also was involved. That information includes contact information (such as mailing address, emergency contact information, email, telephone number); date of birth, medical diagnosis or condition; bank account number; and health insurance information and/or Medicaid number.
Clients and individuals whose information was affected were notified starting on February 7, 2025.
What is ACBDD doing?
We reported the incident to law enforcement and the Department of Health and Human Services with the Office of Civil Rights. For individuals whose had their Social Security number impacted, we are providing those individuals with access to Single Bureau Credit Monitoring services at no cost. These services provide persons with alerts for 12 months from the date of enrollment when changes occur to your credit file. In addition, dedicated team and call center will be to provide support services and address inquiries concerning the incident, credit monitoring, identity protection services, and proactive fraud assistance to help with any questions that you might have. These services will be provided by HayStack, specializing in fraud assistance and remediation services.
If you believe you may have been affected by this incident and have not received a notification from us, please do not hesitate to contact our dedicated assistance line through Haystack at 888-802-9735 between the hours of 8:00 am and 8:00 pm EST to confirm eligibility and receive a credit monitoring code. If you have any questions regarding the incident, please do not hesitate to contact us.
What You Can Do
As a general matter, one should remain vigilant by reviewing your credit reports, financial account statements, and explanation of benefits forms for suspicious activity and to detect errors. We also remind everyone you are entitled to one free credit report annually from the each of the three major credit reporting bureaus, TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call 1-877-322-8228.
You can further educate yourself regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, credit freezes, and the steps you can take to protect your personal information by contacting the credit reporting bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), or your state Attorney General. The FTC also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them. The FTC may be reached at 600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20580; www.identitytheft.gov; 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); and TTY: 1-866-653-4261.
For More Information
For any further information, please contact, Scott Zielinski with ACBDD via email at szielinski@athenscbdd.org.
Contact Information
Scott Zielinski
szielinski@athenscbdd.org
SOURCE: Athens County Board of Developmental Disabilities
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