Attorney General offers tips to protect public after major cybersecurity breach

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — Attorney General Peter Neronha shared a number of tips on how the public can protect themselves after a cybersecurity breach that occurred in the state’s RIBridges system.

Victims of the breach could potentially include anyone who has received or applied for health coverage and/or health and human services programs or benefits.

Neronha said that a law requires that affected consumers receive notice within 30 days of discovery of the breach and the ability to provide the following information to affected consumers:

• A general and brief description of the incident, including how the security breach occurred and the number of affected individuals;
• The type of information that was subject to the breach;
• The date of breach, estimated date of breach, or the date range within which the breach occurred; and
• The date that the breach was discovered.

He also provided the following tips for anyone who believes they are the victim of identity theft:

• Contact the fraud department of any one of the three major credit bureaus and place a credit file fraud alert. A fraud alert requests that creditors contact you before opening new accounts or making any changes to your existing accounts. The alert will last for 90 days.
• Close the accounts that you know or believe have been tampered with or opened fraudulently.
• File a police report. Get a copy of the report to submit to your creditors and others that may require proof of the crime.
• File a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission at (877) 382-4357.
• Keep records of all phone calls, reports filed, correspondence, etc., and follow up phone conversations with certified letters to confirm your communication.
• Check your bank and credit card statements regularly and report any unauthorized charges, no matter how small, to your bank or financial

The major credit reporting agencies and their contacts are:

• Equifax: (800) 525-6285
• Experian: (888) 397-3742
• TransUnion: (800) 680-7289

Neronha also said that the public can protect themselves from identity theft by checking banking and credit statements regularly, never carrying their Social Security card on themselves, shredding documents with personal information, and checking their credit report once a year.