Ramsey County: Over 117,000 impacted in August 2018 data breach

Ramsey County says the number of people who may have had their private health information compromised in a cyber-attack last year has increased to more than 117,000. 

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Ramsey County says the number of people who may have had their private health information compromised in a cyber-attack last year has increased to more than 117,000.

The data breach occurred in August 2018. Ramsey County said hackers gained unauthorized access to 28 email accounts belonging to 26 county employees in an apparent scheme to divert employee’s paychecks.

The county first notified the public about the data breach in December. At the time, they believed the data breach impacted approximately 500 Ramsey County Social Services clients.

Now, the county said it has identified approximately 117,905 people the cyber-attack may have affected and has mailed letters to those individuals notifying them about the breach.

In particular, the names, addresses, dates of birth, and other identifiers of participants in the Minnesota Department of Human Services Child and Teen Checkups Program (C&TC Program) were in the emails of some county employees that provide services to the agency, and may been exposed in the breach.

The county said it does not know whether any of this information was actually viewed during the attack, and they are not aware of any misuse of the information.

Clients may find out whether their private health information has been affected by contacting Ramsey County at 651-266-2275 or 1-833-812-4159.