Commission on Economic Opportunity Provides Notice of Privacy Incident

TROY, N.Y., Dec. 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Commission on Economic Opportunity (CEO) is notifying the public of a recent event that may impact the security of some individuals' personal information.

CEO recently became aware of a network security incident that resulted in the encryption of certain CEO systems. CEO immediately took steps to secure its network, launching an investigation with the assistance of cybersecurity specialists. The investigation determined that an unknown actor may have accessed or acquired certain data between September 6 and October 11, 2021.

While this investigation is ongoing, it has been determined the involved CEO systems may have contained certain member names, addresses, dates of birth, member identification numbers, treatment information, diagnosis or symptom information, provider names, prescription information, and/or health insurance information.

To date, CEO is not aware of any actual or attempted misuse of any information. In addition, Social Security numbers and other financial information were NOT accessed or compromised.

CEO takes this incident very seriously. Once CEO became aware of the incident, the organization immediately took steps to confirm the security of its systems. CEO is reviewing existing security policies and has implemented additional cybersecurity measures to further protect against similar incidents moving forward. CEO has reported this incident to law enforcement and applicable regulators.

CEO works with local partners, such as Capital District Physicians' Health Plan, Inc. (CDPHP), to ensure members receive routine preventive care, as well as other health and wellness services. CDPHP members who may have been impacted would have participated in CEO's Community Health Project.

Although CEO is unaware of any misuse of this information, CEO is providing individuals with information about the incident, steps taken since discovering the incident, and what individuals can do to better protect against potential misuse of their information as a result of this incident.

Individuals who believe they are potentially impacted by this incident or that have additional questions, you may contact CEO's dedicated call center toll-free at 1 (833) 671-0081, Monday – Friday from 9 a.m. – 11 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. – 9 p.m. For TTY/TDD services, please dial 711. In order help you quickly, please provide the agent reference code B021604.  Individuals may also visit CEO's website at www.ceopeoplehelpingpeople.org.

CEO is providing notice of this incident along with information and steps a potentially impacted individual can do to better protect their information. CEO encourages all potentially impacted individuals to remain vigilant by reviewing account statements, monitoring free credit reports and Explanation of Benefits for suspicious activity and to detect errors. Under U.S. law, a consumer is entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion. To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. Consumers may also directly contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below to request a free copy of their credit report:

Individuals may further educate themselves regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, credit freezes, and the steps they can take to protect their personal information by contacting the consumer reporting bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission, or their state Attorney General.  The Federal Trade Commission may be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580; www.identitytheft.gov; 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); and TTY: 1-866-653-4261. 

For New York residents, the New York Attorney General may be contacted at: Office of the Attorney General, The Capitol, Albany, NY 12224-0341; 1-800-771-7755; or https://ag.ny.gov/.

SOURCE Capital District Physicians' Health Plan