The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed a major privacy incident affecting almost a quarter million employees and individuals associated with DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigations.
The incident involves the release of personally identifiable information (PII) contained in the DHS OIG case management system. On May 10, 2017, DHSH OIG discovered an unauthorized copy of its investigative case management system in the possession of a former DHS OIG employee.
This data breach affects two groups of individuals, the first being 247,167 current and former federal employees employed by DHS in 2014 (DHS Employee Data). The PII for these individuals includes names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, positions, grades, and duty stations.
The second group consists of individuals (subjects, witnesses, complainants, etc.) associated with DHS OIG investigations from 2002 through 2014 (Investigative Data). The PII contained in this database differs depending on the documentation and evidence collected for a given case. However, information contained in this database includes names, Social Security numbers, alien registration numbers, dates of birth, email addresses, phone numbers, addresses, and personal information provided in interviews with investigative agents.
The agency’s investigation concluded that the incident did not stem from a cyber-attack by an external actor and that the affected individuals PII was not the primary target of the unauthorized exfiltration.
Affected employees have been notified by letter of the incident, but due to technological limitations, DHS is unable to provide direct notice to individuals affected by the Investigative Data. They are asking any individual associated with a DHS POG investigation from 2002 to 2014 to contacts AllClear ID for details on credit monitoring and identity protection services.
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