TEMPLE TERRACE, Fla. — Carlos Baia has dealt with a data breach on a personal level.
“They kept some of my data, and it was vulnerable, and it’s, unfortunately, sort of a sign of the times,” he said.
Now, he’s dealing with one on a professional level. Baia is the city manager of Temple Terrace.
Wednesday, the city announced that roughly 700 people treated or transported to the hospital by the city’s fire department had some of their info stolen in a hack: maybe their names, the dates they were treated, and their medical record numbers.
“This is always an unfortunate situation for anybody involved,” Baia said.
Temple Terrace, however, was not the hacker’s direct target.
Instead, hackers stole the data from a file-transfer software tool, MOVEit Transfer, used by EMS Management and Consultants, Inc., the city's EMS billing service.
“What you’ve experienced here with the fire department is just one tiny piece of a much bigger iceberg, right?” explained cybersecurity expert Sherri Davidoff, the CEO of LMG Security.
According to online reports, hundreds of other organizations have also been linked to the breach. There are potentially millions of victims worldwide.
“This isn’t over,” Davidoff warned. “We’re still right in the middle of this.”
Temple Terrace said its patients who are impacted will be notified by mail and eligible for a year of free credit monitoring.
What else can they and everyone do as we hear about more and more breaches?
“Stay aware, protect yourself, and keep an eye on your information,” Davidoff answered.
Davidoff said you can do that by monitoring your accounts, using two-factor authentication on online accounts, and treating your email account like it’s a hacker’s holy grail.
Regardless of this latest breach, she thinks most people’s info is already in the hands of hackers, which is why putting those tips into practice is so important.
As for the hack impacting Temple Terrace, the city said its EMS billing service moved quickly to patch the tool and undertook recommended mitigation steps.
Interested individuals can find additional information about the event and how they can help protect their personal information at this link.
They may also contact a toll-free call center dedicated to responding to inquiries about this incident at 833-318-2801 (reference code B100189).
