The state’s Department of Health and Human Services says personal information for as many as 15,000 clients has been breached.
Names, addresses, social security numbers and Medicaid ID numbers were stolen, with some information posted on social media sites.
The agency says a patient at the state-run psychiatric hospital in Concord accessed the information in October, 2015 through a computer in the facility’s library.
“This was someone given use of a computer and that computer was configured in a way that the individual was apparently was able to access information they should have not been able to access,” says DHHS Commissioner Jeff Meyers.
The agency says no financial or medical records were included, and that the agency is working to notify impacted individuals. DHHS says some information was posted to social media sites in November, but that it was quickly taken down by law enforcement.
“We obviously regret very deeply that there was any breach of information, and are working very hard to ensure that this situation will never be repeated,” says Meyers.
A criminal investigation into the matter is ongoing. DHHS has set up a toll-free number, 1-888-901-4999, for people with questions about the status of their personal information.
