THE MENTAL HEALTH CENTER OF GREATER MANCHESTER -PROVIDES NOTICE OF DATA PRIVACY INCIDENT

MANCHESTER, N.H., April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester ("MHCGM") is providing notice of a recent data security event that occurred at a third-party community partner MHCGM had used for data storage, Center for Life Management ("CLM"), that may impact the privacy of certain information relating to MHCGM patients or those who were assessed for treatment by MHCGM. CLM is a third-party mental health provider which stored data for MHCGM to assist in reporting information regarding the Community Connections Mental Health Court ("Community Connections") program. Please note this event did not occur at MHCGM, nor did it impact the security of MHCGM's computer systems. Although MHCGM is currently unaware of any misuse of any individual's information in connection with this incident, MHCGM is providing information about the incident and steps individuals may take to protect against misuse of their information.

What Happened? On February 23, 2022, MHCGM learned that a data security incident occurred on CLM's systems on February 21, 2022, and may have resulted in unauthorized access to certain data storage systems containing MHCGM's Community Connections court reporting data, which contains information on MHCGM patients and individuals who were assessed for treatment. CLM discovered the event on February 23, 2022, and immediately began working to determine the nature and scope of the incident, and launched an investigation with the assistance of third-party computer forensic specialists. On or about April 11, 2022, CLM determined it was unable to rule out unauthorized access to MHCGM data stored on its systems. The investigation found no evidence that any individual's specific information was viewed by an unauthorized individual, but CLM was unable to rule it out. Additionally, there was no evidence that any individual's data was removed or taken from CLM's systems. MHCGM immediately undertook a review of the data at issue, and out of an abundance of caution, is providing notice for all individuals who were assessed for, or participated in, MHCGM's Community Connections program whose data may have been affected by this incident.

What Information Was Involved?  While MHCGM is currently unaware of any misuse of information relating to the CLM event and is providing this notice in an abundance of caution, the potentially impacted data that was present on CLM's server at the time of the event may include an individual's name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, diagnosis, medical information, discharge information, and treatment location and/or healthcare provider. MHCGM is in the process of notifying individuals whose information was involved.

How Will Individuals Know If They Are Affected By This Incident? MHCGM is mailing notice letters to the individuals identified as potentially impacted by this incident, for whom they have valid mailing addresses. If an individual did not receive a letter but would like to know if they are affected, they may call MHCGM's dedicated assistance line, provided below.

What Is MHCGM Doing? Upon learning of this incident, MHCGM moved quickly to investigate and respond. MHCGM is no longer using CLM to store data for the Community Connections program. To protect against incidents like this in the future, MHCGM is working on removing all data from the CLM servers, and further assessing its policies and procedures to help prevent similar future incidents from occurring. Although MHCGM is unaware of any actual or attempted fraudulent misuse of personal information as a result of this incident, they are offering impacted individuals access to twelve (12) months of complimentary credit monitoring through Epiq. In addition, MHCGM is providing notice to appropriate regulatory authorities.

What You Can Do? MHCGM encourages individuals to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud, to review account statements and explanation of benefits forms, and monitoring free credit reports for suspicious activity, and detect errors. Under U.S. law individuals are entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus.  To order a free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. Individuals may also contact the three major credit bureaus directly to request a free copy of their credit report, place a fraud alert, or a security freeze.  Contact information for the credit bureaus is below:

You may further educate yourself regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, credit freezes, and the steps you can take to protect your personal information by contacting the consumer reporting bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission, or your 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.  The Federal Trade Commission also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them.  You can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above.  You have the right to file a police report if you ever experience identity theft or fraud.  Please note that to file a report with law enforcement for identity theft, you will likely need to provide some proof that you have been a victim.  Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement and your state Attorney General.

We regret any concern this incident may cause.  If you have additional questions or concerns, please call our toll-free dedicated assistance line at 1-844-925-1207. This toll-free line is available Monday – Friday from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm Eastern Time. You can also visit our website at www.mhcgm.org. Individuals may also write to the Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester at 401 Cypress Street, Manchester, NH 03103.

CONTACT: Jennifer DeVoe, 603-945-3033

SOURCE Mental Health Center for Greater Manchester