Illinois health department exposed over 700,000 residents’ personal data for years


The health department for the U.S. state of Illinois has confirmed that a years-long security lapse exposed the personal information of more than 700,000 state residents.

The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) said in a statement on January 2 that an internal mapping website containing residents’ personal information, which officials used for assisting with the allocation of state resources, was inadvertently publicly viewable as far back as April 2021 through September 2025, when the security lapse was discovered. Officials said the exposed data included personal information on 672,616 individuals who are Medicaid and Medicare Savings Program recipients. The data included their addresses, case numbers, and demographic data — but not individuals’ names.

Read more…
Source: TechCrunch News


Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox


Related:

  • Russian Hackers Target U.S. HIMARS Maker in ‘New Type of Attack’

    August 1, 2022

    ussian hackers have launched “a new type of attack” on American military company Lockheed Martin, the maker of the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), the weapon the hackers believe is responsible for thousands of deaths in Ukraine, according to a pro-Moscow news website. The Kremlin-supporting Life website reported that the cyberattack by the Killnet ...

  • Federal courts hit by “significant and sophisticated” cyberattack in 2020

    July 28, 2022

    The US federal court system was hit with a significant cyber breach in 2020, unrelated to the SolarWinds attack, that a US congressman on Thursday called “incredibly significant and sophisticated.” At a hearing of the House Judiciary Committee, chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-NY, noted that the Administrative Office of the Courts released a public statement about the ...

  • Weak data protection helped China attack US Federal Reserve, report says

    July 27, 2022

    China’s cyber espionage activities are extensive and sophisticated but when the Middle Kingdom tried to steal sensitive economic data from the US Fed, poor security meant its operatives didn’t have to dip too far into their bags of tricks. Or at least that’s according to the findings of an investigation by the Senate’s Committee on Homeland ...

  • U.S. doubles reward for tips on North Korean-backed hackers

    July 26, 2022

    The U.S. State Department has increased rewards paid to anyone providing information on any North Korean-sponsored threat groups’ members to $10 million. “If you have information on any individuals associated with the North Korean government-linked malicious cyber groups (such as Andariel, APT38, Bluenoroff, Guardians of Peace, Kimsuky, or Lazarus Group) and who are involved in targeting ...

  • Cybersecurity in city government, taken to new heights: An Interview with Shane McDaniel

    July 24, 2022

    When most people speak of any city government, they often mention words like “Bureaucratic”, “Behind the times”, and “Slow.” This is especially true when considering cybersecurity initiatives. However, a small town in Texas is changing that view. Seguin, Texas, which was once the smallest Texas city to have a full-time cybersecurity employee, was the only ...

  • Walmart-controlled flight booking service suffers substantial data leak

    July 19, 2022

    An Indian flight booking website majority-owned by US retail colossus Walmart has experienced a data breach, but is saying very little about what happened or the risks to customers. News of the breach emerged on Monday, when customers received a message. While the message to customers assures them that “no sensitive information pertaining to your Cleartrip account” ...