Louisiana OMV cyberattack

The Louisiana Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness is urging all Louisiana residents to take quick steps to protect themselves after their data was compromised in an OMV cyberattack. According to a press release from GOHSEP, the Louisiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles is one of several government entities affected by the MOVEit data breach. MOVEit is a third-party data transfer service that sends large files, according to the governor’s office. The third party service is used worldwide and reports of the data breach have circulated around the country and the world. The governor’s office says there is no indication at this time that cyber attackers who violated MOVEit sold, used, shared or released OMV data obtained from the MOVEit attack. The cyber attackers did not contact the state government. However, GOSEPH encourages all Louisiana residents to take immediate steps to protect their identity. OMV believes that anyone with a Louisiana driver’s license or vehicle registration may expose the following data to cyber attackers: Name Address Social Security Number Date of Birth Height Eye Color Driver’s License Number Vehicle Registration Information Disability Card Information GOHSEP made the following recommendations to Louisiana residents Take immediate action: 1 Prevent unauthorized new account openings or loans and monitor your credit Individuals can freeze and unfreeze their credit for free, preventing others from opening new accounts and borrowing money in your name. Freezing your balance does not preclude the use of any existing credit cards or bank accounts. Freeze your credit quickly online or by contacting the three major credit bureaus by phone: Experian 1-888-397-3742 www.experian.com/freeze Equifax 1-800-685-1111 www.equifax.com/personal/ Report Services Credit / Credit Freeze / TransUnion (888) 909-8872 www.transunion.com/credit-freeze Please also request and review your credit report from these agencies for suspicious activity. Change all passwords As an additional precaution, consider changing all passwords for online accounts (examples: banking, social media, healthcare portals) if your personal data is used to access these accounts. Use multifactor authentication when possible. Learn more about password protection at www.CISA.gov. Protect your tax refund and your returns with the Internal Revenue Service To prevent someone else from filing returns or receiving your federal tax refund, request an “Identity Protection PIN” from the Internal Revenue Service by signing up at: https://www.irs.gov/identity theft – Scam – Scam / Obtain – Identity Protection – Pinor Call the IRS at 1-800-829-1040. 4. Check Your Social Security Benefits All eligible individuals who are applying for and/or receiving Social Security benefits (including disability), please consider registering for a ssa.gov account at https://www. ssa.gov/myaccount/ to prevent others from stealing your benefits. If you suspect Social Security fraud, call the Office of Inspector General’s hotline at 1-800-269-0271, Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213 or file a complaint online at oig.ssa.gov.5 . Report suspected identity theft If you suspect any abnormal activity involving your data, including financial information, contact the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-FTC-HELP or visit www.ReportFraud.FTC.govimmedia. The State of Louisiana will release additional information in the coming days. Additional advice on protecting your data and identity can be found at nextsteps.la.gov and www.IdentityTheft.gov. A press conference will be held at 10:30 am on Friday regarding the hack.

Cheryl Riley

“Amateur organizer. Wannabe beer evangelist. General web fan. Certified internet ninja. Avid reader.”