More than 237K Government Employees Exposed by DOT-Related Data Breach

  • By Steven
  • May 15, 2023

DOT Data Breach

The US Government employs more than 1.8 million individuals, and a large group of those employees was recently exposed by a serious data breach. This breach impacted government employees that use the TRANServe transit benefits program from the government to cover some of their commuting costs to and from work. Over 237,000 current and past members of the program were exposed during this breach. 

How Did the Attack Occur?

There are no specific details about how the data breach was possible, only that it occurred before May 12, when news about the breach came out to the public. The breach was quickly isolated to stop it from doing more harm, but before that, it led to significant issues and data losses. 

What Information Was Viewed or Stolen?

We don't know exactly what information was exposed in this breach yet, only that it's personal in nature. It's likely that the government will send out personal notices to everyone suspected of being involved in this breach because of the personal nature of the exposed data. Without more details, we can assume that either financial data or serious documents such as a driver's license or Social Security number were released throughout the course of this data breach based on the filing. 

How Did the US Government Admit to the Breach?

Government officials sent an email explaining this data breach to the public. Reuters was among the news outlets that saw the email and drafted a report about the breach. In the email, it's explained that the breach was focused on specific administrative sections of the government and impacted the TRANServe transit program more than anything else. That means if you rely on this program to reimburse some of your commuting costs, you may have been exposed by this breach. Along with the email report, the government will begin drafting and sending out personal notices to anyone involved in this breach because of the personal nature of the released information. 

What Will Become of the Stolen Information?

We don't know the specifics about the information stolen, but it's likely anything taken will be used in an attempt to generate profits for the attackers. This means personal data will be leveraged for identity theft attacks. It's also possible that phishing attacks will be generated with data stolen from these government employees. It's uncertain if the hackers will be able to gain access to any other government systems with the data taken from the employees in the transit system. 

What Should Affected Parties Do in the Aftermath of the Breach?

If you get a notice informing you that you may be impacted by this government breach, you should take immediate steps to protect yourself. Monitor your financial accounts, get a credit report, and consider investing in identity theft protection services or credit monitoring services. The more you know about what's happening with your credit, the safer you will be from these attacks. Also, avoid giving away private information via email to anyone that requests it. If someone requests personal or financial information over email, they are almost certainly an attacker.

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