Technorati Tag: Security Breach
Date Reported:
1/8/08
Organization:
State of Wisconsin
Contractor/Consultant/Branch:
Department of Health
Victims:
SeniorCare and other state program recipients
Number Affected:
Unknown
Types of Data:
Names, addresses and Social Security numbers
Breach Description:
Informational brochures sent by the Wisconsin Department of Health & Family Services to recipients of SeniorCare and other state programs were inadvertently printed with Social Security numbers on them. It is unknown how many recipients are affected.
Reference URL:
620 WTMJ News Story
Report Credit:
WKOW-TV
Response:
From the online source cited above:
Social Security numbers were printed on informational brochures sent by the state to recipients of SeniorCare and other state programs
In December 2006, the state Department of Revenue mailed 171,000 tax booklets with the number printed on the label.
It is not known how many brochures were sent by the state Department of Health and Family Services in the latest case.
Department spokeswoman Stephanie Marquis told WKOW that the department was still investigating.
[Evan] WKOW broke the story initially.
Jane Marvin received the 11-page mailing, titled "Wisconsin Medicaid and BadgerCare recipient update" and dated January 2008.
Marvin told WKOW that she also had received the tax mailing last year with her Social Security number on it.
[Evan] Ugh. The same person is victimized twice by the State of Wisconsin in a little more than a year.
The Department of Revenue paid more than $500,000 to provide credit monitoring for those affected by its 2006 mailing. No cases of identity theft have been reported to the state as a result of that incident.
[Evan] If the State of Wisconsin is interested, I will proofread their mailings before they go out for $350,000/year and we can save the taxpayers some money!
Victim Reaction:
"It's unbelievable," Marvin said. "You would think they (state officials) would have learned from the Revenue Department situation. I am concerned."
Commentary:
At the time of this writing, this is a breaking story, for which I could only find one source. I am sure that more details will become apparent as the word gets out.
How does this happen? I can understand the initial mistake, but it is hard to believe that nobody at the Department of Health & Family Services noticed the problem before the mailings went out.
Past Breaches:
December 2006 - Wisconsin mails tax forms with Social Security numbers printed on them
Date Reported: 1/8/08
Organization:
State of Wisconsin
Contractor/Consultant/Branch:
Department of Health
Victims:
SeniorCare and other state program recipients
Number Affected:
Unknown
Types of Data:
Names, addresses and Social Security numbers
Breach Description:
Informational brochures sent by the Wisconsin Department of Health & Family Services to recipients of SeniorCare and other state programs were inadvertently printed with Social Security numbers on them. It is unknown how many recipients are affected.
Reference URL:
620 WTMJ News Story
Report Credit:
WKOW-TV
Response:
From the online source cited above:
Social Security numbers were printed on informational brochures sent by the state to recipients of SeniorCare and other state programs
In December 2006, the state Department of Revenue mailed 171,000 tax booklets with the number printed on the label.
It is not known how many brochures were sent by the state Department of Health and Family Services in the latest case.
Department spokeswoman Stephanie Marquis told WKOW that the department was still investigating.
[Evan] WKOW broke the story initially.
Jane Marvin received the 11-page mailing, titled "Wisconsin Medicaid and BadgerCare recipient update" and dated January 2008.
Marvin told WKOW that she also had received the tax mailing last year with her Social Security number on it.
[Evan] Ugh. The same person is victimized twice by the State of Wisconsin in a little more than a year.
The Department of Revenue paid more than $500,000 to provide credit monitoring for those affected by its 2006 mailing. No cases of identity theft have been reported to the state as a result of that incident.
[Evan] If the State of Wisconsin is interested, I will proofread their mailings before they go out for $350,000/year and we can save the taxpayers some money!
Victim Reaction:
"It's unbelievable," Marvin said. "You would think they (state officials) would have learned from the Revenue Department situation. I am concerned."
Commentary:
At the time of this writing, this is a breaking story, for which I could only find one source. I am sure that more details will become apparent as the word gets out.
How does this happen? I can understand the initial mistake, but it is hard to believe that nobody at the Department of Health & Family Services noticed the problem before the mailings went out.
Past Breaches:
December 2006 - Wisconsin mails tax forms with Social Security numbers printed on them
