On Tuesday, a data breach occurred at the Washington D.C. health insurance marketplace, potentially exposing the personal identifiable information of hundreds of U.S. Capitol lawmakers and staff members. In response, Chief Administrative Officer Catherine L. Szpindor advised out of an “abundance of caution” that lawmakers freeze their credit at the three major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and Transunion.

The FBI has confirmed it is aware of the incident and is assisting with the investigation. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have jointly requested additional information from the head of the DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority on what data was taken, who was affected, and what steps are being taken to protect House victims of the breach.

The spokesperson for the DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority said that credit monitoring services are being provided for all affected customers and an investigation has been launched. Additionally, a post on a popular dark web hacker forum revealed that the personal information of 170,000 Health Link customers, including names, birthdays, spouses, and Social Security numbers, was advertised for sale by a well-established user, and has since been sold.

How Your Business Can Prevent Data Breaches

Chris Close, a cyber security expert from Cyber Sleuth Security’s Brooklyn branch, recently spoke about the best ways businesses can prevent data breaches.

"Businesses should be proactive when it comes to cybersecurity," said Close. "They need to have a plan in place that addresses the vulnerabilities they could face, and they need to be willing to invest in the right technologies and personnel to help prevent a data breach."

When asked what measures businesses should take to protect themselves, Close replied, "Businesses should start by creating a secure network, and they should also ensure they have strong access control measures in place. Additionally, they should conduct regular security audits to identify any potential issues and take steps to mitigate them."

Close also stressed the importance of employee education. "Employees should be aware of the risks of cybersecurity and how to protect their data," he said. "They should also be trained to spot suspicious activity and know what to do in the event of a breach."

Finally, Close recommended businesses invest in the right tools and services. "Businesses should invest in technologies like firewalls and malware protection, as well as services like penetration testing to identify vulnerabilities in their systems," he said. "This will help them protect their data and prevent a data breach from occurring."

Source

Data breach hits 'hundreds' of lawmakers and staff on Capitol Hill