Two data breaches in Gadsden: Court system, EMS report that data may have been stolen
The 2nd Judicial Circuit announced Monday that law enforcement is investigating a data breach involving Gadsden County court records.
In a news release, the circuit said that initial assessments show some of the records contained "personal identifying information." Officials said the breach only affected Gadsden County records.
The circuit added that "steps were taken to stop the breach," though it didn't elaborate. The circuit did not immediately disclose the nature of the breach or how many individuals may have been impacted.
"The origin and full extent of the incident are under investigation by the appropriate law enforcement agencies," the circuit said. "The 2nd Judicial Circuit, the Gadsden County Clerk of Court and the Office of the State Courts Administrator are cooperating with law enforcement to assist in the investigation."
A second data breach in Gadsden?
The notice to the community came on the same day that Gadsden Emergency Medical Services notified the public of "an incident that may have impacted some information related to certain patients" and to "remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft."
A public notice from contractor EMS Management and Consultants Inc on behalf of Gadsden EMS said they learned that some patients’ information was included in a data breach that occurred in May and again in June.
After an investigation "with the assistance of third-party cybersecurity specialists," the contractor, which handles billing services for Gadsden EMS, determined "an unknown actor" accessed information and "took certain data from the server."
The stolen data may include name, date of transport, social security number, date of birth, encounter/transport number, billing codes and other patient information related to the ambulance transport.
"While EMS|MC is unaware of any misuse of information in relation to the incident, it is providing potentially affected individuals with steps they may take to help protect their information should they feel it is necessary to do so," the note read.
EMS|MC is mailing notice letters on behalf of its EMS agency customer to the impacted individuals forwhom they have valid mailing addresses.
Patients can find additional information about the incident and how they can help protect their personal information at www.emsbilling.com/notice. They may also contact the toll-free call center, which is dedicated to responding to inquiries about this incident at (833) 318-2801, reference code B100189.
It is not clear if the EMS breach is related to the Gadsden County Court cybersecurity breach.
Court documents can still be filed in Gadsden
Circuit officials said court documents may still be filed in Gadsden County through the Florida Courts E-Filing Portal or in person at the courthouse.
The circuit issued a subsequent statement saying it is committed to providing information to the public through ongoing updates, which are available on its website or by calling 850-606-4350.
"The 2nd Judicial Circuit takes the data breach involving court records very seriously," the circuit said. "The breach is the subject of an active law enforcement investigation."
Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or 850-599-2180.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Two data breaches in Gadsden: Court system, EMS report stolen data
