On January 2, 2019, Klamath County notified individuals that their personal information was affected by a Veterans Service Office data security incident. On September 19, 2019, the Klamath County IT Department became aware of unusual activity of one of its Veterans Service Office employee’s email accounts. Klamath County immediately launched an investigation and determined that the Veterans Service Office employee’s email account was subject to unauthorized access. Based on this information, Klamath County determined the contents of the Veterans Service Office employee’s email account by utilizing an external data specialist, which confirmed that personal information of individuals was affected. With the assistance of the data specialist, Klamath County was able to identify most individuals affected by the Veterans Service Office data security incident. Although Klamath County is not aware of any evidence of the misuse of the information involved, Klamath County is in the process of notifying all affected individuals to make them aware of the incident and provide them with steps they can take to protect their information. In addition, Klamath County has taken additional steps to revise procedures that will further reduce the risk of a similar event to happen in the future.
Klamath County is providing a toll-free call center that Veterans Service Office individuals that were possibly affected by the Veterans Service Office data security incident can call to ask questions or learn additional information. The telephone number for the call center is 1-800-939-4170. It is available Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. PST. Klamath County encourages individuals who have been in contact with the Klamath County Veterans Service Office and believe that they may have been affected by the Veterans Service Office data security incident to take steps to protect their personal information by reviewing the notification letter and following the steps outlined therein or by calling the toll-free number above. Klamath County is committed to protecting the privacy of all individuals and regrets any concerns this incident may cause.
SOURCE Klamath County
The veterans service office did not respond to an inquiry sent this morning as to whether the data were PII, PHI, or both.