George Crocker reports:
North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) says a set of computer disks belonging to the Division of Services for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing (DSDHH) may have been accidentally discarded and taken to a landfill during a recent office renovation.
The agency is alerting it’s (sic) clients since the disks contained personal information of those who had applied for services from the Equipment Distribution Service within DSDHH from January 2005 through December 2008.
DSDHH says the information contained on the disks is accessible only using special software. However, they’re still sending letters to each of the individuals whose personal information may have been compromised. That’s a precautionary measure. The letter outlines the incident, offers guidance on how clients can protect themselves from identity theft or scams and suggests clients check their credit reports regularly.
Read more on WNCT
The story does not indicate what types of personal information were on the disks and I can find no statement on DHHS or DSDHH’s sites that provides details. Looking at other news sites currently covering the incident, they all seem to have the same information, suggesting that the state sent out a press release and none of the mainstream reporters have obtained additional information as yet.