MONTEREY COUNTY — Monterey County has been notified that a contractor providing behavioral health services to various clients experienced a network data breach that may have involved unauthorized access to the personal data of 4,201 county residents.
The breach occurred between Aug. 25 and 27 with the contractor, Seneca Family of Agencies.
“During that time, an external, unauthorized individual may have improperly accessed the contractor’s network and withdrawn client data,” the county stated in a news release.
Data stored on the contractor’s network included clinical and demographic information, such as date of birth, social security numbers, treatment and diagnosis information, medical record numbers, and driver’s license or state issued ID numbers.
According to the county, the contractor has reported the breach to law enforcement agencies and an investigation is already underway.
The county was notified of the breach on Oct. 13 and “immediately began working with the contractor to determine if clients from Monterey County were affected by the breach,” the release said.
Any Monterey County clients affected by the breach will be notified individually.
Anyone who has been affected by this incident or has additional questions can contact the Compliance Department at he********************@co.us or call 831-755-4018.
“The County takes this situation seriously and is committed to protecting the privacy of its clients,” the release concluded. “The contractor is making cybersecurity protection improvements to its network and the County is reviewing these changes.”
