Notice of Data Security Incident
Eldorado, Illinois – February 20, 2024 – Egyptian Health Department (“EHD”) is writing to inform you of a recent data security incident that may have resulted in unauthorized access to some individuals’ sensitive personal information. This notice is intended to provide details about the incident, steps we are taking in response, and resources available to help protect against the potential misuse of sensitive personal information.
What Happened?
On December 21, 2023, EHD was the victim of a cybersecurity incident. Upon discovery of this Incident, EHD promptly engaged a specialized cybersecurity firm to conduct a forensic investigation to determine the nature and scope of the Incident. The forensic investigation, which was completed on February 15, 2024, indicated that some EHD folders was accessed by an unauthorized actor. These folders contain certain employee and client/patient data. While EHD does not have any evidence of misuse or exfiltration of any employee and client/patient data, EHD plans to notify potentially impacted individuals out of an abundance of caution. EHD is currently in the process of identifying such individuals and plans to notify them by mail, in addition to offering credit monitoring and identity theft protection services. EHD has notified law enforcement and its primary federal regulator of this incident.
What Information Was Potentially Impacted?
For employees, the potentially impacted information may include one or more of the following types of data elements: name, social security number, drivers’ license number or other government-issued ID, financial account information, and/or insurance information.
For clients/patients, the potentially impacted information may include one or more of the following types of data elements: name, date of birth, medical information, and health insurance claims information.
Once again, EHD is in the process of identifying potentially impacted employees and patients and will notify them individually by mail.
What Steps Is EHD Taking to Protect You?
EHD is committed to ensuring the privacy and security of all personal information in our care. Since the discovery of the Incident, EHD has taken and will continue to take steps to mitigate the risk of future issues. Specifically, EHD engaged a specialized cybersecurity firm and IT personnel to conduct a forensic investigation to determine the nature and scope of the Incident. Additionally, EHD took the following steps, including, but not limited to: creating new domain controllers; moving the SMB network shares off the domain controllers to a dedicated virtual machine; implementing permission audits on shared folders; limiting Sharepoint Server to internal access only; resetting all credentials; programs requiring inbound initiated connections were moved to individual virtual machines; installing Sentinel One and Huntress on all equipment; implementing limited use access to Domain Admin rights; implementing password protection on spreadsheets with PHI.
What Steps Can Individuals Take to Protect Their Data?
EHD will be offering complimentary credit monitoring and identity theft protection services to all potentially impacted individuals. EHD strongly encourages all individuals to register for this free service. Instructions on how to register for these services will be included in the notice letters.
EHD encourage all members to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud, to review account statements, and to monitor credit reports for suspicious or unauthorized activity. Additionally, security experts suggest that individuals contact his/her financial institution and all major credit bureaus to inform them of such a breach and take the recommended steps to protect his/her interests, including the possible placement of a fraud alert on the credit file.
EHD recognize that our members may have questions not addressed in this notice. For more information, please call (888) 893-4991 Monday through Friday, during the hours of 8:00 am to 8:00 pm Central Time (excluding U.S. national holidays).
EHD sincerely apologizes for any inconvenience and is making every concerted effort to protect our employees and clients/patients.
Sincerely,
Angie Hampton
Chief Executive Officer
Egyptian Health Department
Steps You Can Take to Help Protect Your Information
Credit Reports: You may obtain a copy of your credit report, free of charge, whether or not you suspect any unauthorized activity on your account. You may obtain a free copy of your credit report from each of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies. To order your free credit report, please visit www.annualcreditreport.com, or call toll-free at 1-877-322-8228. You can also order your annual free credit report by mailing a completed Annual Credit Report Request Form (available at https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0155-free-credit-reports) to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA, 30348-5281.
Fraud Alerts: You can place fraud alerts with the three credit bureaus by phone or online. A fraud alert tells creditors to follow certain procedures, including contacting you, before they open any new accounts or change your existing accounts. For that reason, placing a fraud alert can protect you, but also may delay you when you seek to obtain credit. As of September 21, 2018, initial fraud alerts last for one year. Victims of identity theft can also get an extended fraud alert for seven years.
Experian
P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013
1-888-397-3742
www.experian.com/fraud/center.html
TransUnion
P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19016
1-800-680-7289
www.transunion.com/fraud-alerts
Equifax
P.O. Box 105069
Atlanta, GA 30348
1-800-525-6285
https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-fraud-alerts/
Monitoring: You should always remain vigilant for incidents of fraud and identity theft by reviewing credit card account statements and by monitoring your credit report for suspicious or unusual activity.
Security Freeze: You have the right to place a security freeze on your credit report. A security freeze is intended to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in your name without your consent. To place a security freeze on your credit report, you need to make a request to each consumer reporting agency. You may make that request by certified mail, overnight mail, regular stamped mail, or by following the instructions found at the websites listed below. The following information must be included when requesting a security freeze (note that if you are requesting a credit report for your spouse or a minor under the age of 16, this information must be provided for him/her as well): (1) full name, with middle initial and any suffixes; (2) Social Security number; (3) date of birth; (4) current address and any previous addresses for the past five years; and (5) any applicable incident report or complaint with a law enforcement agency or the Registry of Motor Vehicles. The request must also include a copy of a government-issued identification card and a copy of a recent utility bill or bank or insurance statement. It is essential that each copy be legible, display your name and current mailing address, and the date of issue. As of September 21, 2018, it is free to place, lift, or remove a security freeze. You may also place a security freeze for children under the age of 16. You may obtain a free security freeze by contacting any one or more of the following national consumer reporting agencies:
Experian
P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013
1-888-397-3742
www.experian.com/fraud/center.html
TransUnion
P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19016
1-800-680-7289
www.transunion.com/fraud-alerts
Equifax
P.O. Box 105069
Atlanta, GA 30348
1-800-525-6285
https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-fraud-alerts/
File Police Report: You have the right to file or obtain a police report if you experience identity fraud. Please note that in order to file a crime report or incident report with law enforcement for identity theft, you will likely need to provide proof that you have been a victim. A police report is often required to dispute fraudulent items. You can generally report suspected incidents of identity theft to local law enforcement or to the Attorney General.
FTC and Attorneys General: You can further educate yourself regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, security freezes, and the steps you can take to protect yourself, by contacting the consumer reporting agencies, the Federal Trade Commission, or your state Attorney General. The Federal Trade Commission can be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580, www.identitytheft.gov, 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338), TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The Federal Trade Commission also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them. You can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement.
For residents of Iowa: State law advises you to report any suspected identity theft to law enforcement or to the Attorney General.
For residents of Massachusetts: It is required by state law that you are informed of your right to obtain a police report filed in regard to this incident. If you are the victim of identity theft, you also have the right to file a police report and obtain a copy of it.
For residents of New Mexico: State law advises you to review personal account statements and credit reports, as applicable, to detect errors resulting from the security breach. You have rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, such as the right to be told if information in your credit file has been used against you, the right to know what is in your credit file, the right to ask for your credit score, and the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. Further, pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the consumer reporting agencies must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information; consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information; access to your file is limited; you must give your consent for credit reports to be provided to employers; you may limit “prescreened” offers of credit and insurance you get based on information in your credit report; and you may seek damages from violators. You may have additional rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act not summarized here. Identity theft victims and active-duty military personnel have specific additional rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. We encourage you to review your rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act at www.consumerfinance.gov/f/201504_cfpb_summary_your-rights-under-fcra.pdf or by writing Consumer Response Center, Room 130-A, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580.
For residents of Oregon: State law advises you to report any suspected identity theft to law enforcement, including the Attorney General, and the Federal Trade Commission.
For residents of Vermont: If you do not have internet access but would like to learn more about how to place a security freeze on your credit report, contact the Vermont Attorney General’s Office at 802-656-3183 (800-649-2424 toll free in Vermont only).
For residents of Rhode Island: It is required by state law that you are informed of your right to file or obtain a police report in regard to this incident.
For residents of Arizona, Colorado, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, and Rhode Island: You can obtain information from the Offices of the Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission about fraud alerts, security freezes, and steps you can take toward preventing identity theft.
Federal Trade Commission – Consumer Response Center: 600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20580; 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338); www.identitytheft.gov
Arizona Office of the Attorney General Consumer Protection & Advocacy Section, 2005 North Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85004 1-602-542-5025
Colorado Office of the Attorney General Consumer Protection 1300 Broadway, 9th Floor, Denver, CO 80203 1-720-508-6000 www.coag.gov
District of Columbia Office of the Attorney General – Office of Consumer Protection: 400 6th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001; 202-727-3400; www.oag.dc.gov
Illinois office of the Attorney General – 100 West Randolph Street, Chicago, IL 60601; 1-866-9995630; www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov
Maryland Office of the Attorney General – you may also may also wish to review information provided by the Maryland Attorney General on how to avoid identity theft at https://www.marylandattorneygeneral.gov/Pages/IdentityTheft/default.aspx, or by sending an email to idtheft@oag.state.md.us, or calling 410-576-6491.
New York Office of Attorney General – you may contact and obtain information from these state agencies: New York Department of State Division of Consumer Protection, One Commerce Plaza, 99 Washington Ave., Albany, NY 12231-0001, 518-474-8583 / 1-800-697-1220, http://www.dos.ny.gov/consumerprotection; and New York State Office of the Attorney General, The Capitol, Albany, NY 12224-0341, 1-800-771-7755, https://ag.ny.gov
North Carolina Office of the Attorney General – the Attorney General can be contacted at 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001, 1-877-566-7226 or 1-919-716-6400, and www.ncdoj.gov. You may also obtain information about steps you can take to prevent identify theft from the North Carolina Attorney General at https://ncdoj.gov/protecting-consumers/protecting-your-identity/protect-yourself-from-id-theft/.
Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General – Consumer Protection: 150 South Main St., Providence RI 02903; 1401-274-4400; www.riag.ri.gov