Over 300K impacted by Minnesota human services department breach

The Minnesota Department of Human Services has confirmed that almost 304,000 individuals had their demographic information pilfered following a data breach in late August, according to StateScoop.

Unauthorized access by a healthcare provider-linked user to the state's MnCHOICES system — which helps counties, tribes, and managed care organizations serve residents requiring long-term services and supports — for nearly a month enabled the compromise of Minnesotans' income information, educational backgrounds, and other demographic details, according to breach notification letters issued by the state DHS.

More than 1,200 individuals also had their names, birthdates, phone numbers, addresses, Medicaid ID numbers, and partial Social Security numbers exposed as a result of the incident, which was initially flagged by Maryland government IT firm FEI Systems. Investigation into potential misuse of the exfiltrated data is still ongoing.

"If potential fraud is identified, DHS will fully investigate and when appropriate refer those matters to law enforcement," said officials.