Government Consulting Firm Falls Victim to Massive Social Security Number Breach at Hands of Hackers

The US consulting firm Greylock McKinnon Associates recently announced a shocking data breach that compromised a staggering total of 341,650 Social Security numbers.

In a public disclosure on Friday, the company revealed the hack on Maine’s government website, which serves as a platform for data breach notifications from the state.

“Prompt steps were taken to mitigate the incident,” states GMA, addressing the cyberattack that struck in May 2023 but wasn’t publicly disclosed until now.

Notably, GMA mainly provides economic and litigation support to various organizations and government agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Justice, in civil litigation matters. In their official data breach notice, GMA notifies affected individuals that their personal information was obtained by the U.S. DOJ in support of an ongoing civil litigation matter.

The objectives and targeted entities of the DOJ’s civil litigation remain a mystery, as a representative from the Justice Department did not respond to requests for comment.

GMA has stated that those notified of the data breach are not the focus of the investigation or the related litigation, and that the cyberattack has no impact on current Medicare benefits or coverage.

“We worked closely with third-party cybersecurity professionals to manage the situation, promptly informing law enforcement and the DOJ,” writes GMA in their official announcement. “We obtained the affected individuals’ contact information on February 7, 2024, after receiving confirmation of the leaked data.”

The consulting firm also adds that affected individuals can expect their personal and Medicare information, including names, dates of birth, residential addresses, certain medical and health insurance details, and Medicare claim numbers (which also include Social Security Numbers), to have been compromised in the breach.

It’s puzzling why it took GMA nine months to fully grasp the magnitude of the breach and inform their clients.

Neither GMA nor their legal counsel, Linn Freedman of Robinson & Cole LLP, have released any comments regarding the incident at this time.