Texas Comptroller Susan Combs has announced a series of additional actions her office is taking to address the unauthorized posting of certain personal information on one of the agency’s file transfer servers. The security breach that took place two weeks ago, led to the breach of sensitive data of 3.5 million people in Texas.
“I am deeply sorry this incident occurred and I take full responsibility for it,” Combs said. “This incident has affected the lives of Texans that I have dedicated my life to serving, and I am determined to restore their faith in the Comptroller’s office. That’s why we are taking additional actions to assist those who were affected and implementing new policies and procedures to help ensure this never happens again.”
The additional measures being taken to assist those affected by the incident include:
- Beginning at 7 a.m., April 29, 2011, one year of credit monitoring and Internet surveillance offered at no charge to those affected by the unauthorized posting of their personal information; and
- Identity restoration services for enrollees whose personal information is misused as a result of the data posting, paid for by Combs’ campaign fund.
The free credit monitoring service, provided through CSIdentity, alerts subscribers to certain activity associated with their credit files, such as credit inquiries, or account openings, closings or delinquencies. Subscribers will also receive CSIdentity’s Internet surveillance service, which monitors chat rooms and websites for personal information.
In a separate service paid for by Combs’ campaign fund, CSIdentity will provide identity restoration services to anyone whose personal information is misused as a result of the data posting. To qualify for this offer, individuals must be enrolled in CSIdentity’s free credit monitoring service offered to those affected. There is no indication that anyone’s personal information has been misused in connection with this incident.
Some people whose personal information was affected may have already signed up for discounted credit monitoring and identity protection services offered by several service providers through the Comptroller’s office. Those companies have cancellation and refund policies, and individuals who signed up can contact the companies if they wish to cancel.
Infosec India 