COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services announced the personal information of 146 claimants may have been exposed during a data breach in December 2020, the agency said Tuesday.
Tom Betti, a spokesperson for ODJFS, said at this time there is no evidence that personal information was actually stolen or improperly utilized.
The security issue has been fixed. ODJFS said free identity theft protection services through IDX, a data breach and recovery services company, will be provided to those claimants.
"It’s highly unlikely that anyone’s information was seen by anyone that was not supposed to see it. But we take our responsibility very seriously, and we take the identities of every Ohioan very seriously. And that’s why we’re taking this proactive measure," the agency said.
The ODJFS said it will send four different letters depending on the information that was exposed. There were 96 claimants whose social security numbers were potentially exposed and 35 who didn't have their numbers exposed.
The other 15 letters were sent to the spouses of the applicants.
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