Health Data Breach Impacts Nearly All Montana Residents

Montana state officials will be notifying 1.3 million individuals of a health data breach after a computer server in the Department of Public Health and Human Services was hacked.


Montana state officials will be notifying 1.3 million individuals of a health data breach after a computer server in the Department of Public Health and Human Services was hacked.

The number of current and former residents being notified exceeds the state’s estimated population in 2013 of 1.015 million. The department is offering all affected people one year of credit and identity protection services after suspicious activity was detected on the server on May 15 and confirmed a week later.

Protected information on the server included names, addresses birth dates, clinical information, dates of services and Social Security numbers. Departmental payroll information including names, SSNs and bank account numbers also were on the server. The state has no evidence that information has been accessed or used.

The department initially announced the breach on May 29, saying the server likely was first accessed in July 2013, additional security software was being added to other servers and that affected individuals would be receiving notification letters. New information released on June 24 disclosed the depth of the breach and the start of notifications.

Cybersecurity insurance purchased in 2013 will pay up to $2 million in costs associated with the breach, which should cover the majority of expenses, according to the state.

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