Philadelphia data breach exposes thousands: What residents need to know
A recent data breach may have put thousands of Philadelphia residents at risk. Here’s what you should know.
As reported by the Philly Voice, a recent data breach might have impacted more than 35,000 individuals, many of whom live within city limits. This happened as a result of the city’s email system being attacked between May and July 2023, possibly exposing sensitive personal data. Here’s what else we know.
How to find out if you were impacted by the data breach
The city reportedly sent a letter to anyone who may have been affected. According to the letter, there is no indication that any identity theft or fraud occurred as a result of the cyber intrusion, but an “unauthorized actor” (i.e., hacker) potentially had access to certain information.
Full names, addresses, date of birth, Social Security numbers, and health-related information may have been exposed in the breach, although the amount of information varies between individuals.
“We take this event and information security very seriously,” the letter from the city reads. “Upon learning of this event, we immediately took steps to further secure our systems and email environment.”
According to a filing by the City of Philadelphia to Maine’s attorney general, as reported by Bleeping Computer, 35,881 people were affected, including 15 Maine residents. The filing says that the breach occurred on May 24, 2023, and was discovered on July 28, 2023. The city mailed notices to residents starting July 8.
Anyone with questions relating to the data breach can call an assistance line at 1-866-898-0867 from Monday to Friday between 9 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. or write to the city via the email address HIPAAPrivacy@phila.gov.
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