Ohio Unemployment Data Breach Victims - Claim Your FREE Copy of My Book "Death by Identity Theft"

In response to the news that the Ohio Department of Jobs and Family Services has suffered a data breach relating to their unemployment system, I'm giving away copies of my book "Death by Identity Theft" for the next 30 days.

To recap, the following letter is being sent to affected applicants:

Deloitte discovered on May 15, 2020 that your name, Social Security number, and street address pertaining to your application for and receipt of unemployment compensation benefits inadvertently had the capability to be viewed by other unemployment claimants," Ohio JFS officials said in the letter to applicants.

State officials estimated around two dozen individuals were inadvertently able to view the information of other PUA applicants, JFS officials said in a media release Wednesday.

Deloitte was able to fix the issue with the system within an hour on May 15, officials said.

“At this time, there is no evidence or indication to believe that your personal information was improperly used; therefore, our actions, as well as the actions you may want to consider, are preventative,” JFS officials said in the letter to applicants.

Deloitte is offering credit monitoring to all PUA applicants for 12 months, according to a JFS spokesperson.

For those with additional questions about the breach you’re asked to contact Deloitte at DeloitteIdentityhelp@jfs.ohio.gov.

While no further details are yet available, the most likely cause of this would be an unsecured web server leaving personal information exposed on the Internet without any authentication or encryption.

This book includes useful information for how to further protect your identity, and evaluate if the identity theft monitoring service being provided will be sufficient, or if you should invest in more. 

Scams are on the rise relating to COVID-19 aka coronavirus. Just like you take steps to protect your health, it's also important to take steps to protect your identity.

To claim your completely free copy of Death by Identity Theft, click the image below.

Ken is a Cyber Security professional with over 10 years experience. He has written multiple books, including "Death by Identity Theft" and his latest book "Hacking of the Free". All opinions expressed in this post are his own, and do not reflect the opinions of his employer or clients.