From a summary of Rhode Island’s data breach notification law, as summarized by PerkinsCoie:
Notification Obligation. Any Entity to which the statute applies shall provide notification of (i) any disclosure of PI or (ii) any breach of the security of the system, that poses a significant risk of identity theft to any resident of RI whose unencrypted PI was, or is reasonably believed to have been, acquired by an unauthorized person or entity.
[…]
Timing of Notification. The notification shall be made in the most expedient time possible but no later than 45 calendar days after confirmation of the breach and the ability to ascertain the information required to fulfill the notice requirements and shall be consistent with the legitimate needs of law enforcement.
So, if an entity takes more than a year to determine that personal information was involved in a breach and still hasn’t figured out who to notify, it is not necessarily out of compliance with Rhode Island’s notification law.
Consider a press release by WD & Associates (“WD”), a division of Patriot Growth Insurance Services, LLC. On May 24, they offered a frequently seen assurance that the confidentiality, privacy, and security of information in its care is one of its highest priorities. They add, “WD is providing this notice with additional information about the incident, WD’s response, and the resources available to individuals to help protect their information, should they feel it appropriate to do so.”
Coupled with its later statement that there is no evidence that the hacked data was subject to actual or attempted misuse and that they are notifying individuals “out of abundance of caution,” we have yet another example of attempts to minimize a data breach and the failure of the entity to notify individuals promptly.
When did WD first discover suspicious activity in its network?
They do not disclose that. They only tell us that their investigation found unauthorized access between February 1, 2023 and February 9, 2023 and then investigated to see what files were involved and what was in them.
What information was involved?
WD still hasn’t concluded its investigation or notified individuals. They write, “However, on or about March 1, 2024, the review identified files that contain the following information for certain individuals: name, date of birth, Social Security number, health insurance information, financial account information, medical information, driver’s license number, and passport number.”
Why did it take until then to discover there was so much personal information in files that potentially could be used for identity theft or fraud?
When do they anticipate concluding their determination of whom to notify, when will individuals have letters in hand, and will those letters contain offers of complimentary mitigation services such as credit monitoring and identity theft restoration?
WD claims it does not have evidence that the information involved was subject to actual or attempted misuse as a result of this incident, but it does not state how it has searched for any evidence or whether it will continue to search for evidence of misuse. Is it scouring dark web sites and marketplaces?
Comment
It’s time entities were called out more stridently for making claims about no evidence of misuse if they do not demonstrate or describe how diligently they have searched and will continue to search for such evidence. How could WD have any reports of fraud or misuse if no one knew that their information was stolen from WD more than a year ago? How many people were potentially affected by this breach, and how many of those became victims of identity theft after February 9, 2023? The public does not yet know.