Data Breach Could Affect Escambia, Santa Rosa Health Department Clients

November 10, 2018

A data breach may have compromised the personal information of some health department clients in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties.

An investigation found that an unauthorized user comprised an employee’s Microsoft Outlook 365 account between October 8-16 of this year. The department immediately reset the employee’s login credentials to terminate any inappropriate account access and promptly reported the event.

It is possible that individuals served by the District 1 Child Protection Team may have had their names, psychological, and medical conditions accessed as a result of this incident, according to a news release.

Currently the department has no reason to believe that client information has been misused.  Nor was there any evidence of access to social security numbers, bank accounts, credit cards or other personal or financial information.

As a precautionary measure, clients are encouraged to review their credit history for any fraudulent or suspicious activities they have not authorized. A free report can be obtained at www.annualcreditreport.com. Anyone suspecting fraudulent activity should contact the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office at (850) 436-9630.

The department said it:

  • Took immediate steps to remediate the breach and began an ongoing review of potentially impacted information;
  • Conducted a full review of department IT data to determine the circumstances of the breach;
  • Initiated a new security awareness training and exercises to ensure proper security protocol and monthly testing of employees;
  • Is exploring additional security options to protect against further security breaches.

For more information, call Children’s Medical Services at (850) 245-4201 and select option 3.

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Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News