Cyberattack on DHSS website includes HIPAA and APIPA breach

A press release issued by the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services says that a security breach of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and the Alaska Personal Information Protection Act (APIPA) occurred as a result of the "highly sophisticated cyberattack on DHSS that was first detected in May 2021."

According to the press release, notification of the security breach was delayed until today to avoid interference with a criminal investigation. Alaska DHSS said in its press release that the breach involved an unknown number of individuals but potentially involved any data stored on the department’s information technology infrastructure at the time of the cyberattack.

Alaska DHSS says that free credit monitoring is being made available to any Alaskans concerned about the breach of their data and has made additional information about the breach, including breach notification statements and frequently asked questions, at dhss.alaska.gov.

You would think that after all these breaches, most Alaskans already have plenty of free credit monitoring provided to them courtesy of the state.

Anyway, the lengthy yet informative press release can be found below.