Township of Maplewood, NJ Provides Media Notification of Data Security Incident

MAPLEWOOD, N.J., Aug. 7, 2019 The Police Department to the Township of Maplewood, NJ ("Maplewood Township") is providing notice of suspicious activity that was discovered and remediated from the Police Department network.  Upon discovery of the activity, Maplewood Township commenced an immediate investigation into the event, which included working with a leading third-party forensic investigation firm to determine what may have happened. The investigation confirmed that malware was introduced on the network on December 9, 2018.  Because the malware made it impossible to determine what, if any, information was accessed, Maplewood Township is providing notice of this incident to all potentially affected individuals with information in its systems. The information within the Maplewood Township network may include: full name or first initial and last name, Social Security number, Driver's license number/state identification number, or account number, credit or debit card number, in combination with any required security code, access code, or password that would permit access to an individual's financial account. To date, the investigation has not revealed evidence suggesting any information was viewed, accessed, obtained or subject to fraud or misuse of any kind.

Maplewood Township takes this incident and the security of personal information within its care very seriously. Upon discovery of the unauthorized access, Maplewood Township immediately took necessary measures to contain the incident and secure the computer network. Maplewood Township then engaged a third-party forensics firm to determine the full scope of the incident. Maplewood Township took many significant steps to ensure the security of the information within its network. It also reassessed the technical safeguards relating to other Maplewood Township systems containing personal information, conducted employee retraining focused on email safety awareness, and reviewed Township policies and procedures regarding security generally for potential enhancements. Maplewood Township also reported this incident to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), New Jersey State Police, the County of Essex Prosecutor's Office, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Maplewood Township encourages potentially affected individuals to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft or fraud, to review account statements, and to monitor credit reports for suspicious activity. Under U.S. law you are entitled to obtain one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus by visiting www.annualcreditreport.com or calling, toll-free 1-877-322-8228. You may also request a free copy of your report by contacting the three major credit bureaus directly at: Equifax, P.O. Box 105069, Atlanta, GA, 30348, 1-800-685-1111, www.equifax.com; Experian, P.O. Box 2002, Allen, TX 75013, 888-397-3742, www.experian.com; TransUnion, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016, 1-800-680-7289, www.transunion.com. Potentially affected individuals may also find information regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, security freezes and the steps they may take to protect their information by contacting the credit bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission or their state Attorney General.  The Federal Trade Commission can 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.

Additional detail on this incident and how potentially affected individuals can protect against identity theft or fraud can be found at https://www.twp.maplewood.nj.us/home/news/notice-data-privacy-incident or by calling the Maplewood Township assistance line at (855) 424-2569 (toll free), Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time, excluding major holidays. Maplewood can also be reached by mail at 74 Valley Street, Maplewood Township, NJ 07040. 

SOURCE Police Department to the Township of Maplewood, NJ