Marsha Shuler reports:
Some 56,000 emergency medical technicians were advised this week that a hacker may have gained access to personal information about them contained in a state licensing database.
The state Department of Health and Hospitals sent letters to the emergency medical technicians, notifying them of the incident that occurred Sept. 17.
[…]
Department of Health and Hospitals spokeswoman Lisa Faust said Bureau of Emergency Medical Services personnel discovered the database breach. The unauthorized entry gave the hacker access to an individual’s name and personal information, including Social Security numbers.
“What we don’t know is whether the hacker was able to access any information,” Faust said.
A computer screen displayed the message “You have been hacked,” Faust said. “Since we don’t know one way or the other we sent notices out to 56,000 people that there’s a potential that the information was compromised.”
“Although we have no indication that information was actually released, we know that it was accessed,” Tony Keck, DHH’s deputy secretary, said Wednesday.
Both the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Louisiana Attorney General’s Office are investigating, Keck said.
Read more in 2theAdvocate. I’m a tad confused by what seem to be their conflicting statements as to whether the database was actually accessed.
On an unusual note, the state said notification to EMTs was delayed because the agency had to find the money to cover the cost of printing the letters and stamps.