DHS Discovers Privacy Incident Involving Former Employee

A former employee of the Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General (OIG) had an unauthorized copy of the DHS OIG investigative case management system, which contained the personally identifiable information of 247,167 current and former DHS workers and also parties involved in DHS OIG investigation cases.

DHS OIG discovered the privacy incident on May 10, while conducting an ongoing criminal investigation with the US Attorney's Office, reports the DHS. It does not appear the unauthorized copy of the PII was the primary target of the former DHS OIG employee, the DHS notes.

The privacy incident affected two groups. One group included nearly a quarter million DHS workers who were with the agency in 2014. The second group involved individuals associated with DHS OIG investigations, such as witnesses and parties who lodged complaints, from 2002 to 2014.

Although DHS was able to notify affected employees who were with the agency in 2014, it could not reach individuals who were associated with DHS OIG investigations between 2002 to 2014 due to technological limitations, according to DHS. As a result, it is asking these individuals to contact AllClear ID at (855) 260-2767 for 18 months of free credit monitoring and identity protection services. A similar offering is being made to the 247,167 DHS workers.

Read more about the DHS OIG privacy incident here.