City of Joplin offers update on July 2021 security breach

(From the City of Joplin)

The City of Joplin, Missouri (“The City”) is announcing today that it is notifying additional individuals whose information was involved in a data security incident that occurred in July 2021.

Upon learning of the incident, the City immediately began to investigate, a cybersecurity firm was engaged, and steps were taken to address the incident and restore operations. The City of Joplin also contacted law enforcement. Through its investigation, the City of Joplin determined that an unauthorized person obtained access to its systems between July 2 and July 6, 2021, and took some files out of its network.

 

On July 10, 2021, the City’s investigation determined that files relating to its employer-sponsored health plan were accessed by an unauthorized person. The City carefully reviewed those files and began mailing letters to affected individuals on September 8, 2021. The City’s ongoing investigation identified additional health plan files that may have been accessed by the unauthorized person. These files contained Social Security numbers and health insurance information for members enrolled between 2015 and 2020.

In an abundance of caution, the City has arranged for affected health plan enrollees to receive a complimentary membership to identity monitoring services provided by Kroll at no cost for one year. Services include Credit Monitoring, Fraud Consultation, and Identity Theft Restoration.

The City also determined that the involved files included information related to residents of Joplin and Duquesne who paid their sewer bill via check between 2013 and 2021. The information includes certain individuals’ names and checking account information for the account used to pay the sewer bills. The City recommends that all residents whose information may be involved be vigilant for incidents of fraud or identity theft by reviewing their account statements and free credit reports for any unauthorized activity, and report such activity to the appropriate law enforcement agency.

The City sincerely regrets that this incident occurred and apologizes for any inconvenience or concern. To help prevent something like this from happening again, the City is continuing to take steps to enhance its existing security protocols.

The City opened a dedicated call center to answer questions about this incident, available 1-855-651-2613 from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm, Central time, Monday through Friday.