Utah Data Breach Victims Get Additional Coverage

The victims of the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) data breach are going to get additional credit monitoring thanks to $1 million in approved funds from the state’s lawmakers.

Last year, UDOH alerted nearly 800,000 people that attackers breached a server that stored Medicaid claims and Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP) data. Initially, the Utah Department of Technology Services reported to the UDOH that the breach impacted a much smaller number of records, but later learned their assessment was way off.  

The executive director of Utah’s Department of Health, David Patton, told victims at a community forum that the compromised records had been on the server for more than three months, when in fact the information “should have been deleted the day after the inquiry.”  

Because of the breach, Stephen Fletcher, the executive director of Utah’s Dept. of Technology Services (DTS) at the time, resigned from his post. Further, a massive audit was ordered on all state technology security and data storage procedures, in addition to an audit on how the state handled personal information. 

It was expected that the total cost for the breach would run anywhere from $2 to $10 million. This included the cost for credit monitoring for those exposed by the breach. The recently approved funds will extend the initial monitoring period. In addition, $300,000 was used to create a privacy and security office to strengthen data security processes and procedures.

According to Sheila Walsh-McDonald, Utah’s Data Security Ombudsman, those with existing protection will have it extended automatically. Anyone wishing to enroll can contact the health department directly. In addition, updated contact information and breach details can be viewed here.