The Children’s Home of Wyoming Conference

The Children’s Home of Wyoming Conference (CHOWC), headquartered in Binghamton, New York, experienced a significant data security incident, which was publicly disclosed on December 1, 2023. This incident involved unauthorized access to certain files and data within CHOWC’s systems, discovered initially due to unusual activity detected on June 2, 2023. The organization, which provides a range of community services to children and families, including residential, educational, preventative, and therapeutic care, took immediate steps to secure its network and engaged external cybersecurity experts to assist in the investigation and response to the incident[1][3].

The breach potentially exposed sensitive personal identifiable information and protected health information of over 1,100 individuals. The types of information that may have been compromised include patient names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, addresses, medical record numbers, health insurance information, diagnosis and treatment information, clinical information, and provider information[1][3]. This information pertains to individuals who may have received medical treatment from CHOWC.

In response to the breach, CHOWC conducted a comprehensive review to identify the scope of the affected data and confirmed that protected health information was indeed contained within the compromised data. The organization began notifying potentially impacted individuals on December 1, 2023, providing them with resources to assist in protecting their information, including offering a toll-free call center for inquiries related to the incident. CHOWC has expressed deep regret over any inconvenience or concern caused by the incident and emphasized that the privacy and protection of all information is a top priority[1].

For those affected by the breach, CHOWC recommended steps to protect personal information, such as enrolling in any free credit monitoring services provided, changing passwords and security questions for online accounts, regularly reviewing account statements and credit reports for signs of fraud or unauthorized activity, and contacting a credit bureau to request a temporary fraud alert[3].

Citations:

1. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/the-childrens-home-of-wyoming-conference-provides-notice-following-data-security-incident-302003525.html
2. https://www.washingtonpost.com
3. https://www.turkestrauss.com/2023/12/14/the-childrens-home-of-wyoming-conference-data-breach-investigation/
4. https://www.miamiherald.com
5. https://casetext.com/case/shidagis-v-broome-cnty-dss-3
6. https://www.foxnews.com/category/us/crime
7. https://hs.ocfs.ny.gov/dcfs/Profile/Index/858204
8. https://www.thestar.com/opinion/contributors/how-western-media-treats-the-islamic-threat/article_3137e088-c5cd-11ee-aac4-b3d749cf85bf.html
9. https://chowc.org/employment/online-application/
10. https://www.foxnews.com/us
11. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/hipaa-journal_ransomware-attacks-have-been-announced-by-activity-7130193414301601793-uJm2
12. https://www.nationalreview.com
13. https://hs.ocfs.ny.gov/dcfs/Profile/Index/858205
14. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/13/us/politics/trump-impeached.html
15. https://breachdata.topwords.me/hipaa?limit=20&offset=60&sort=reported_date
16. https://www.ksl.com