Timberland Regional Library Takes Action After Learning of Data Security Incident

TUMWATER, Wash., May 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Timberland Regional Library ("TRL") announced today that it has taken action after learning of a data security incident which may have involved the personal information of its patrons.  TRL began providing notification to all potentially impacted individuals on May 5, 2021.

What Happened? – On January 20, 2021, TRL became aware of a potential data security incident involving suspicious access to one of its employees' email accounts.  TRL immediately undertook an internal investigation into the incident and reported the incident to appropriate law enforcement authorities.  TRL also changed all passwords associated with the email account and undertook additional affirmative steps to further safeguard the integrity of its systems.  TRL thereafter retained a professional forensic investigation firm to determine the nature of the security compromise and identify any individuals whose personal information may have been compromised.

What Information Was Involved? – The forensic investigation concluded that there was evidence of unauthorized access to two (2) TRL employees' email accounts spanning from August 21, 2020 through January 25, 2021.  As indicated above, the threat was terminated within only days of identifying suspicious activity.  As a result, to exhaust investigative efforts, a full and time-consuming analysis of the impacted mailboxes was performed.  The investigation identified the existence of limited personal information within these mailboxes, including dates of birth.  This extensive analysis concluded on April 15, 2021.

What TRL Is Doing – As stated above, in addition to the security protocols already in place, following identification of the data security incident, TRL immediately took affirmative steps to safeguard the integrity of its systems and retained a forensic investigation firm to thoroughly investigate the incident.  Please be advised that TRL is continuing to identify and implement measures to further strengthen the security of their systems to help prevent this from happening in the future.

What Patrons Can Do – TRL is aware of how important personal information is to its patrons.  TRL began mailing notification letters on May 5, 2021 to potentially impacted individuals for whom TRL had valid mailing addresses.  Please note that it is entirely possible that an individual's date of birth was not compromised as a result of the incident.  Nonetheless, TRL is providing notification of the incident in an abundance of caution.  If an individual does not receive a letter, but would like to know if he or she is potentially impacted by this incident, or if an individual has any questions or would like additional information, they may call TRL's dedicated assistance line at (855) 535-1790 between the hours of 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. PST, Monday through Friday.

SOURCE Timberland Regional Library