Rehabilitation Support Services notifies current and former employees and clients of IT security incident

ALTAMONT, N.Y., Sept. 10, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Rehabilitation Support Services, Inc. ("RSS") provides rehabilitation and recovery-oriented services throughout the state of New York aimed at addressing the needs of persons with mental illness and/or substance abuse. RSS works with adults and children and offers various ancillary services to support its mission. RSS announced today that it recently learned of an incident that may affect the security of personal and protected health information of some of its employees and clients. RSS has sent notification of this incident to potentially impacted individuals and is providing resources to assist them.

After noticing suspicious activity on its systems on June 1, 2021, RSS launched an investigation to determine the nature and scope of the suspicious activity. Working with outside computer forensics specialists, RSS determined that an unknown actor accessed the RSS network, removed certain information from it and published the information on a dark web website in connection with the incident.

RSS undertook a comprehensive and time-intensive review of all files that could have been impacted to determine whether protected health information and/or personal information was present in files. On August 5, 2021, RSS identified information belonging to certain current or former employees and clients in the published documents. RSS immediately worked to identify current address information for these individuals and notify them accordingly. The information accessed by the unauthorized actor varies per individual but may include: name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, health insurance information, and/or medical diagnosis or treatment information.

Currently, there is no evidence of the misuse of any information involved in this incident to commit identity theft. Nevertheless, notice of this incident was sent to the potentially impacted individuals on September 8, 2021. In addition to informing potentially impacted individuals about the incident, the notification letter includes steps that potentially impacted individuals can take to protect their information and offers these individuals access to complimentary identity monitoring and protection services.  RSS recommends that individuals enroll in the services provided and follow the recommendations contained within the notification letter to ensure their information is protected.

RSS has reported this incident to law enforcement and is cooperating with the FBI in hopes of holding the perpetrator accountable. RSS is also reporting this incident to certain regulatory authorities, as required.

"At RSS, the privacy of our clients and employees is of the utmost importance and one of our highest priorities," said Bill DeVita, Executive Director of RSS. "Upon becoming aware of the incident, we immediately launched an investigation and engaged a response team, including legal counsel specializing in cyber and data security incidents and independent computer forensic experts. We have provided notification letters to individuals who may have been impacted in this incident and have offered resources to assist with protecting their information. We deeply regret and apologize for any concern or inconvenience this incident may cause."

RSS is committed to the welfare of its employees and clients and to protecting their information and has established a dedicated assistance line for individuals seeking additional information regarding this incident. Individuals seeking additional information may call the toll-free assistance line at 1-800-710-2138. This toll-free line is available from 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM Eastern Time, Monday through Friday, excluding U.S. holidays. Individuals seeking to contact RSS directly may also write to us at 5172 Western Turnpike, Altamont, NY 12009.

SOURCE Rehabilitation Support Services, Inc.