Utah’s Head of Technology Resigns after Huge Data Breach

It's crucial that sensitive information stored on computers be handled correctly in order to help defend against hackers who are eager to exploit any weakness in a system. In a recent example, hackers stole hundreds of thousands of online medical records from Utah state computers — a debacle that led to the resignation of the head of the state’s Department of Technology Services.

The hackers broke into a Medicaid eligibility server and stole personal information about 780,000 Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance recipients – including 280,000 Social Security numbers. The hackers had an IP address from eastern Europe, but have not been identified.

Human error and carelessness appear to have played a role in making the information vulnerable to theft. According to Fox News, officials said that security tools were not installed properly on the server and that the information, used to validate claims, should have been deleted after the claims were processed instead of being retained as permanent records.

The governor asked the head of the state’s technology services department to resign as part of a “comprehensive” program to respond to the data breach. The state is also offering free credit monitoring to people whose records were among those stolen.

WeComply offers two types of training courses that teach employees the importance of taking measures to protect sensitive data. A 25-minute course in protecting personal information explains the importance of physical, administrative and technical safeguards against data breaches. A quick user-friendly “refresher” video uses engaging animation to remind employees of the importance of being careful with the information on the computers they use.

Categories: Data Privacy & Security
Tags: Data Privacy, Data Security