People Inc. Issues Notification of a Data Security Incident
On May 29, 2019, People Inc., “Western New York’s leading non-profit human services agency,” published a news release on its website advising that People Inc. “. . . learned of a data security incident that involved protected health information belonging to certain current and former clients. On May 29, 2019, People Inc. notified potentially impacted individuals and provided resources to assist them.”
According to the People Inc. news release:
On February 19, 2019, People Inc. discovered that an unknown individual had gained access to an email account belonging to a People Inc. employee. Upon learning this information, People Inc. immediately reset the password required to access the impacted account. People Inc. also engaged an independent forensics firm to determine what happened and whether personal information was accessed or acquired without authorization as a result of this incident. Through this investigation, People Inc. learned that an email account belonging to a second employee may have been impacted as well. That account is no longer operational. On April 11, 2019, as a result of this investigation, People Inc. learned that the two email accounts contained personal information belonging to some current and former clients. This personal information may have included names, addresses, Social Security numbers, financial account information, medical information, health insurance information, and/or driver’s license or other government identification numbers.
People Inc. takes the security of all information very seriously. People Inc. has no evidence indicating that any information aside from the information contained within the two employee email accounts was impacted in connection with this incident. In addition, People Inc. has no evidence that any of the information potentially involved in this incident has been misused. People Inc. has reported this matter to the FBI and will cooperate as necessary to hold the perpetrators accountable.
Notification letters were sent to all potentially impacted individuals on May 29, 2019. The letters include information about this incident and about steps that potentially impacted individuals can take to monitor and help protect their personal information. People Inc. has established a toll-free call center to answer questions about the incident and to address related concerns. The call center can be reached at 855-579-3669. In addition, as a precaution, People Inc. is offering complimentary identity protection services through Experian to potentially impacted individuals. To determine if you qualify for this service, you must obtain verification through the call center. If you have been impacted, information on how to enroll for this service will be made available to you. [Emphasis added.]
Kehoe Law Firm, P.C.
