Latest News

Latest Update (5/3/12)

You can call 1-855-238-3339 to find out if you or your child’s Social Security number was compromised during the security breach.  Please be aware that in order to check if your number was stolen you will need to provide it to the hotline.

Personal Health Information Breach

We are nearly five full weeks into our response to the data breach that compromised the personal health information of up to 780,000 people.

We now know that a substantial amount of people who have no history with either the Medicaid or CHIP programs had their personal information stolen off the server.  This is because health care providers often submit personal information on patients to the state in order to check their status as possible Medicaid recipients.  It appears some health care providers conduct these inquiries on patients who are privately insured, as well as on patients who they believe may be on Medicaid.

Health care providers conduct these inquiries with an expectation that the state keep these data secure. 

The Utah Departments of Technology Services and Health take full responsibility for not ensuring the security of these data, and are deeply sorry for the distress the breach has caused.

To date, we have sent letters with instructions on how to receive free credit monitoring to more than 275,000 people whose Social Security numbers were stolen during the breach.  We encourage anyone who received one of these letters to follow the steps outlined in it in order to activate your free credit monitoring.

If you haven’t received a letter, but want to find out if your Social Security number was stolen, you can call our toll-free hotline at 1-855-238-3339.  Please be aware that in order to check if your number was stolen you will need to provide it to the hotline.

Early next we will also begin sending out letters to people who had other, less-sensitive information (such as their name, address, date of birth) compromised.  These individuals did not have their Social Security numbers stolen, but will receive advice on proactive steps they can take to protect their credit, such as freezing their credit or placing a fraud alert on their credit (see information below).

We have also started to work with a third-party, independent auditing firm to conduct a full-scale review of the state’s data storage and data security systems.

Additional Resources:

Child Identity Protection

The Utah Attorney General’s Child Identity Protection (CIP) program helps prevent identity thieves from using the personal identifying information of Utah children in the issuance of credit. CIP provides Utah parents/guardians with a secure process to enroll a child’s information with a national credit reporting company (TransUnion).

Upon receipt of an enrolled child’s information via CIP, TransUnion will take certain proprietary fraud prevention steps, including but not limited to the entry of portions of that information into its High Risk Fraud database. Such information will remain in the High Risk Fraud database until the child’s 17th birthday, at which time it will be removed.

Adults (those older than 17 years of age) seeking protection against identity theft may add a fraud alert or security freeze to their credit files by contacting the three national credit reporting companies.  https://cip.utah.gov

Fraud Alert

You can add a fraud alert message to your credit report to help protect your credit information. Fraud alert messages notify potential credit grantors to verify your identification before extending credit in your name in case someone is using your information without your consent. We recommend that you review a copy of your personal credit report. If you believe that information in your credit report is inaccurate due to identity theft or fraud, call the phone number on your report for assistance from a representative specially trained in consumer credit fraud.

To monitor your credit, you may get one free copy of your credit file every 12 months from each of the nationwide credit reporting agencies. For your free credit report, call one of the nation’s three credit bureaus:

• TransUnion  -http://www.transunion.com, 1-800-888-4213

• Experian  - http://www.experian.com, 1-866-200-6020

• Equifax  - http://www.equifax.com, 1-800-685-1111

Credit Freeze

A Credit Freeze simply means that new credit accounts will not be approved and your credit file cannot be accessed by anyone without your approval. Even if thieves have all of your personal identifying information, they still won’t be allowed to get credit in your name.

You can freeze your credit lines by contacting the nation’s three credit bureaus. By freezing your credit, anytime you apply for a mortgage, car loan, credit card, department store account, or any other type of credit, you will have to confirm your identity and unlock your credit report.To freeze your credit, contact one of the nation’s three credit bureaus:

• TransUnion  - https://freeze.transunion.com   1-888-909-8872

• Experian  - http://www.experian.com  1-866-200-6020

• Equifax  - https://www.freeze.equifax.com  1-800-685-1111

Personal Identity Theft

The Utah Attorney General’s Office sponsors the Identity Theft Reporting Information System to assist victims of identity theft. For more information and resources related to protecting and monitoring your personal identity, visit http://idtheft.utah.gov.

News Release:  April 9, 2012

Data Breach Expands to Include More Victims

(Salt Lake City, UT) – The Utah Department of Technology Services (DTS), along with the Utah Department of Health (UDOH) today announced up to 255,000 additional people had their Social Security numbers listed in data stolen by thieves from a computer server last week. These latest victims are people whose information was sent to the state by their health care provider in a transaction called a Medicaid Eligibility Inquiry to determine their status as possible Medicaid recipients.

The victims are likely to be people who have visited a health care provider in the past four months. Some may be Medicaid or CHIP recipients; others are individuals whose health care providers were unsure as to their status as Medicaid recipients.

DTS has started the process of identifying these additional victims, and the state will be sending letters directly to them as they are identified. Some of the 255,000 Social Security numbers were not accompanied by any other indentifying information (such as names and addresses), so DTS will likely need to coordinate with other agencies to identify and notify these individuals.

Victims who had their SSNs stolen will receive one year of free credit monitoring services. There are additional steps anybody can take to help protect their identity and their financial information. This includes placing either a freeze or a fraud alert on their personal credit file with the nation’s three credit bureaus. For information on how to do this, visit http://idtheft.utah.gov.

As many as 350,000 additional people may have had other, less-sensitive information, such as their names, birth dates, and addresses accessed through eligibility inquiries. These people will also receive a letter alerting them to the situation. However, priority will be placed on alerting those who had their Social Security numbers stolen first.

It is now believed that a total of approximately 280,000 victims had their Social Security numbers stolen and approximately 500,000 other victims had less-sensitive personal information stolen.

Possible victims should be aware that nobody from DTS or UDOH will be contacting them and asking for personal information over the phone or via e-email regarding this incident. Scammers may attempt to reach victims in this manner. We strongly recommend that people do not provide private information in response to telephone or e-mail contacts they have not initiated.

The data breach initially occurred on Friday, March 30. A configuration error occurred at the password authentication level, allowing the hacker to circumvent DTS’s security system. DTS has processes in place to ensure the state’s data is secure, but this particular server was not configured according to normal procedure. DTS has identified where the breakdown occurred and has implemented new processes to ensure this type of breach will not happen again.

DTS is cooperating with local law enforcement, as well as the FBI, on a criminal investigation.Medicaid clients can call 1-855-238-3339 to find out if their information was compromised during the attack. Additional information can also be found online at www.health.utah.gov/databreach.

News Release:  April 6, 2012

Impact of Medicaid Data Breach on DTS Server Widens 

(Salt Lake City, UT) – A cyber attack on a Utah Department of Technology Services (DTS) computer server that stores Medicaid claims data now appears to have affected far more recipients than originally believed.  In addition to Medicaid clients, the breach also involved information from Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP) recipients.

The UDOH will immediately begin reaching out to clients whose personal information was stolen during the attack, with priority being placed on those clients whose Social Security numbers were jeopardized.  Those clients will receive a letter in the mail instructing them on how to take advantage of free credit monitoring services for one year.

Once those clients have been notified, all other affected clients will receive letters with information on how to further protect themselves.  Additionally, clients who have signed up for a My Case account (a web portal clients can use to access their accounts) had information on the breach posted to their accounts along with an e-mail notification.

“We understand clients are worried about who may have accessed their personal information, and that many of them feel violated by having their information compromised,” said UDOH Deputy Director Michael Hales.  “But we also hope they understand we are doing everything we can to protect them from further harm.”

Initially, it appeared as though the hackers who broke into the server were able to remove 24,000 claims.  However, as the investigation progressed, DTS determined the thieves actually removed 24,000 files.  One single file can potentially contain claims information on hundreds of individuals.

DTS servers have multi-layered security systems that include many controls, including: perimeter security, network security, identity management, application security, and data security.  In this particular incident, a configuration error occurred at the authentication level, allowing the hacker to circumvent the security system. DTS has processes in place to ensure the state’s data is secured, but this particular server was not configured according to normal procedure.

DTS has identified where the breakdown occurred and has implemented new processes to ensure this type of breach will not happen again.  Additional steps are being implemented to improve security controls related to the implementation of computer hardware and software, as well as increased network monitoring and intrusion detection capabilities.

The investigation into the breach of the server is ongoing, and the two agencies will continue to update the public with any further developments.

Concerned Medicaid clients are still encouraged to call 1-855-238-3339 to get more information on how to protect themselves and their identities.  This same information can also be found at http://www.health.utah.gov/databreach.

by Kori Hamilton, National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NICHCY)

Specific Learning Disabilities and Resources on the Utah Parent Center Website. 

Profile of LD at School

Student has difficulty reading. Struggles to connect letters to sounds. May also have messy penmanship or a hard time spelling . Confuses math symbols. Mixes up details of a story, or the sequence of events. Cannot get organized. Has unexpected problems learning to read, speak, write, or do math.

Does this sound like someone in your class? If so, keep reading. 

About LD

LD stands for learning disability. The above signs are often connected with learning disabilities, which can cause students to have trouble learning or using certain skills. Learning disability is a general term used to describe these challenges. Specific terms for learning disabilities you may also hear include:

• dyslexia (which affects reading),

• dysgraphia (which affects writing), and

• dyscalculia (which affects math skills).

LD is one of the more common disabilities you’ll encounter in the classroom. Almost 1 million children (ages 6 through 21) have some form of a learning disability and receive special education in school. So it’s likely that you’ve worked with many students who have a specific learning disability.

 Not every child who struggles with reading, writing, or math has a learning disability. However, it may be worthwhile to investigate, particularly if the student unexpectedly exhibits a combination of these symptoms, which in turn can hinder academic growth and affect school behavior. If you suspect that a student has a learning disability, it’s important to know that the school is required to evaluate the student and, if eligible, provide special education services.

Practical Tips

 How do you address the learning needs of your students with LD? We’re pleased to offer 7 practical suggestions that you can use right away in your classroom.

1.  Get informed.
Learn about the different types of LD and how each affects individual learning and behavior. The more you know, the more effectively you can respond. Start with NICHCY’s fact sheet on LD. Dig deeper by visiting the organizations listed in the resources section of the fact sheet—there are several organizations that offer materials especially for teachers.

2.  Be proactive and supportive.
Recognize that you can make a real difference in this student’s school success! Find out what the student’s strengths and interests are and place emphasis on those areas and abilities. Understand that the student’s disability isn’t intentional and that you can do a lot to offset its impact on learning.

3.  Make sure the student has AIM (if needed).
AIM stands for accessible instructional materials. Students with reading difficulties especially need AIM, because then they can make full use of class materials, the textbook, and workbooks. AIM is so important for students with print disabilities, there’s a national center you can contact to find out more, including who to contact in your state. Visit the National AIM Center’s Teachers Page at: http://aim.cast.org/learn/stakeholder_focused/teachers

4.  Make accommodations.
Accommodations are small changes you can make to your instruction, assignments, and other classroom business that will help a student with LD learn and succeed in your class. Accommodations can be made in how instruction is presented, how students are expected to respond, the amount of time given to complete tests or assignments, or the setting itself. Examples of accommodations for students with LD include: breaking down tasks into smaller steps, extending time to finish assignments or tests, enabling the student to use AIM, letting a student borrow notes from another, and allowing the student to write on the computer rather than with pen to paper. Read more at: http://www.ldonline.org/article/8022/.

5.  Get that student organized!
Teach your student the basics of organizational skills, study skills, and learning strategies, all of which help give the student an effective structure for learning. Give the student lots of opportunities to practice these skills, and provide positive feedback. Find out more about “what works” at: http://nichcy.org/schoolage/effective-practices/meta80resource

6.  Help the student succeed on tests.
There are different testing modifications that will allow the student with LD to showcase what he or she has learned. These tend to be the same as, or similar to, the accommodations provided in class (e.g., extra time to finish, allowing verbal responses). Find out the testing modifications that your state recommends and permits for students with LD, and provide them during testing. For more info, contact your State Department of Education or visit: http://www.cehd.umn.edu/nceo/TopicAreas/Accommodations/StatesAccomm.htm

7.  Collaborate with parents (and teachers!).
Work together with the student’s parents to create and implement an educational plan tailored to meet the student’s needs. Parents can also tell you a great deal about the student’s interests, difficulties, and skill areas. Regularly share information about how the student is doing at home and at school.

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