The number of people affected by the Utah Medicaid system security breach has increased once again. Originally, officials with the Utah Department of Health reported that only 24,000 Medicaid patients had their personal information stolen when computer hackers breached a computer server that housed the data. Now, state officials are saying that as many as 900,000 people may have been affected by the theft.
Officials revised their number after they learned more information about the 24,000 files originally stolen when hackers breached the security system. These files each contained information on up to several hundred individual patients, drastically increasing the number of people impacted. The information stolen included Social Security numbers, names, addresses, dates of birth, and employer identification numbers.
The server also contained data from a state program providing health care to low-income children. This information is of particular value to hackers because children do not have credit reports. Thus, any financial accounts opened in the child’s name are much more difficult to detect.
State officials are notifying patients affected by this security breach with a letter. However, anyone receiving Medicaid in Utah should closely monitor your credit card statement and bank accounts over the next several months. Any suspicious or unauthorized activity should be addressed quickly by contacting your bank or credit card company.
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