ALAMEDA-CONTRA COSTA TRANSIT DISTRICT NOTIFIES INDIVIDUALS OF A DATA SECURITY INCIDENT
ALAMEDA-CONTRA COSTA TRANSIT DISTRICT NOTIFIES INDIVIDUALS OF A DATA SECURITY INCIDENT
OAKLAND, Calif. – The Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District (AC Transit) learned of a data security incident that involved the personal information of certain individuals. Specifically, AC Transit learned that a limited number of AC Transit employees’ email accounts were accessed without authorization between April 7, 2020 and June 16, 2020. Those email accounts may have contained certain personal information of a limited number of AC Transit customers.
Upon learning of this incident, AC Transit promptly reset the credentials of the involved email accounts and engaged a leading forensic security firm to investigate the scope of the incident. As part of this investigation, AC Transit conducted an intensive search to determine if any email accounts contained personal information.
On January 4, 2021, the investigation determined that the involved accounts contained certain individuals’ personal information. The type of information at issue varied for each individual, but may have included name, date of birth, certain health information, financial account information, Social Security number, passport number, and/or driver’s license number.
AC Transit is not aware of any fraud or identity theft related to the incident. Additionally, we do not know if any personal information was ever viewed during the inappropriate access of email accounts. The agency has sent written notification to the individuals whose personal information was contained in the accounts and for whom the agency had contact information. Individuals should refer to the notice they will receive in the mail regarding steps they can take to protect themselves. As described in those letters, AC Transit has arranged for complimentary identity theft protection services for those individuals whose Social Security numbers, passport numbers, and/or driver’s license numbers were involved in the incident.
As a precautionary measure, impacted individuals should remain vigilant to protect against potential fraud and/or identity theft. Some of these steps may include reviewing account statements and credit reports closely and notifying the proper financial institutions if unusual activity is detected. Individuals should also promptly report any fraudulent activity or suspected identity theft to proper law enforcement authorities, including the police and their state’s attorney general. Affected individuals may also wish to review the tips provided by the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) on fraud alerts, security/credit freezes and steps that they can take to avoid identity theft. For more information and to contact the FTC, individuals can visit www.ftc.gov/idtheft or call 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338). Affected individuals may also contact the FTC at: Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580. This notification was not delayed due to law enforcement investigation.
Contact information for the three national credit reporting agencies is as follows:
| Equifax 1-800-349-9960 www.equifax.com P.O. Box 105788 Atlanta, GA 30348 | Experian 1-888-397-3742 www.experian.com P.O. Box 9554 Allen, TX 75013 | TransUnion 1-800-888-4213 www.transunion.com P.O. Box 1000 Chester, PA 19016 |
AC Transit takes the security of individuals’ personal information seriously and apologizes for any inconvenience or concern this incident might cause. To help prevent a similar incident from happening in the future, AC Transit is taking steps to enhance the security of its systems, including enhancing its data security protocols and staff training.
Additional information is available via a confidential, toll-free inquiry line at (800) 419-5404, available Monday through Friday between 6 am and 6 pm Pacific Time.