The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services has suffered a breach that exposed personal information such as birth dates, addresses, Social Security numbers, Medicaid identification numbers and medical services records, according to a statement from the department on Tuesday.
The data breach affects individuals who were involved with the DHHS prior to November 2015, and there is no evidence that credit card or banking information was exposed, according to the statement.
Still, officials suggested that those affected consider a credit fraud alert or security freeze, and urged citizens to report any identity theft to local law enforcement or the Consumer Protection Bureau of the New Hampshire Department ofJustice.
Officials discovered the hacking in November, when the single hacker posted some information to social media. The leaked information has since been removed. A criminal investigation is ongoing, the statement said.
The New Hampshire breach comes as health-care information has become more valuable to hackers: Health-care-record hacking rose 11,000 percent last year alone, affecting roughly 1 in 3 Americans, NBC News reported.
Healthcare.gov was hacked in 2014, though no personal data was exposed in that attack. Hospitals have also become hacking targets.
