Breach exposes over 600 Virginians' Social Security numbers

[Jake Kouns <jkouns () opensecurityfoundation org>]

http://www.wdbj7.com/news/wtvr-dgs-breach-exposes-over-600-social-security-numbers-20111223,0,910349.story

RICHMOND, VA (WTVR) – Virginia's Department of General Services (DGS)
announced Friday that a data breach potentially exposed the Social
Security numbers of over 600 individuals.

The DGS said in a news release that it removed online access to the
database information, which included 639 Social Security numbers.

Additionally, officials said that info did was not accessible to web
crawlers or search engines.

“This is troubling and we will make sure the individuals affected are
notified promptly,” Department of General Services Director Richard F.
Sliwoski. “It’s imperative we look at long-term strategies to make
sure this never happens again."

DGS said representatives would contact anyone over the next few weeks
whose data could have potentially been exposed.

Officials are working with the agencies where the data originated to
figure out how the breach took place.

A central telephone number for folks whose data was compromised will
be available next week on the DGS web site at www.dgs.virginia.gov.
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