Data Privacy Incident

Jackson O’Keefe, LLP (“Jackson O’Keefe”) is providing notice of a recent incident that may have impacted the security of information for current or former clients and other individuals who were either directly or indirectly involved as a party in a Jackson O’Keefe legal matter.  The confidentiality, privacy, and security of information in Jackson O’Keefe’s care is one of its highest priorities and Jackson O’Keefe takes this incident very seriously.  To date, Jackson O’Keefe is not aware of any actual or attempted misuse of the impacted information.

 

What Happened?  Jackson O’Keefe recently discovered suspicious activity related to an employee email account. Upon discovery, Jackson O’Keefe immediately took steps to secure the account and launched an investigation with the assistance of third-party investigators to determine the nature and scope of the activity.  The investigation determined that the employee email account was subject to unauthorized access on separate occasions between August 9, 2022 to September 2, 2022. As a result, the unauthorized actor may have had access to certain emails and attachments within this account.

 

What Information Was Involved?  The investigation was unable to identify all emails or attachments in the account that the unauthorized individual may have accessed or acquired. Therefore, out of an abundance of caution, Jackson O’Keefe conducted a comprehensive review of the entire contents of the impacted email account in order to identify emails or attachments that may contain sensitive information. The investigation determined that one or more of the following data elements may have been accessed and/or acquired by an unauthorized individual: name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, financial account number, payment card information, digital signature, date of birth, medical information, health insurance information, driver’s license number, taxpayer identification number, and/or government issued identification. To date, Jackson O’Keefe is not aware of any actual or attempted misuse of your information.

 

What Is Jackson O’Keefe Doing?  Upon discovering this incident, Jackson O’Keefe immediately reset the impacted email account password and took steps to determine what information was in the impacted account, to whom the information belonged, and address information in order to provide individuals with notice. Jackson O’Keefe further confirmed the security of Jackson O’Keefe’s employee email accounts and related systems and are reviewing and strengthening our existing policies, procedures, and safeguards related to cyber security.  Jackson O’Keefe is also providing affected individuals with credit monitoring and will be notifying state regulators, as required.

 

For More Information. Potentially affected individuals may have questions regarding this incident that are not addressed in this letter. If you have additional questions and believe you may be impacted by this incident, please call the dedicated assistance line at (833) 704-9391, Monday through Friday from 8 am – 10 pm CST, Saturday and Sunday 10 am – 7 pm CST, except major holidays. Individuals may also write to Jackson O’Keefe at 433 Silas Deane Highway, Wethersfield, CT 06109.

 

What You Can Do? While Jackson O’Keefe is not aware of any actual or attempted misuse of information as a result of this incident, Jackson O’Keefe nonetheless encourages potentially affected individuals to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud by reviewing their account statements and to monitor their credit reports for suspicious activity.  Under U.S. law, a consumer is entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.  To order a free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228.  Individuals may also directly contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below to request a free copy of their credit report.

 

Consumers have the right to place an initial or extended “fraud alert” on a credit file at no cost.  An initial fraud alert is a 1-year alert that is placed on a consumer’s credit file.  Upon seeing a fraud alert display on a consumer’s credit file, a business is required to take steps to verify the consumer’s identity before extending new credit.  If an individual is a victim of identity theft, they are entitled to an extended fraud alert, which is a fraud alert lasting seven years.  Should an individual wish to place a fraud alert, please contact any one of the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below.

 

As an alternative to a fraud alert, consumers have the right to place a “credit freeze” on a credit report, which will prohibit a credit bureau from releasing information in the credit report without the consumer’s express authorization.  The credit freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in a consumer’s name without their consent.  However, individuals should be aware that using a credit freeze to take control over who gets access to the personal and financial information in a credit report may delay, interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application they make regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, or any other account involving the extension of credit.  Pursuant to federal law, individuals cannot be charged to place or lift a credit freeze on their credit report.  To request a security freeze, individuals will need to provide the following information:

 

1. Full name (including middle initial as well as Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.);
2. Social Security number;
3. Date of birth;
4. Addresses for the prior two to five years;
5. Proof of current address, such as a current utility bill or telephone bill;
6. A legible photocopy of a government-issued identification card (state driver’s license or ID card, etc.); and
7. A copy of either the police report, investigative report, or complaint to a law enforcement agency concerning identity theft if they are a victim of identity theft.

 

Should individuals wish to place a credit freeze, please contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below:

 

Equifax	Experian	TransUnion
https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/	https://www.experian.com/help/	https://www.transunion.com/credit-help
888-298-0045	1-888-397-3742	800-916-8800
Equifax Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 105069 Atlanta, GA 30348-5069	Experian Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013	TransUnion Fraud Alert, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016
Equifax Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 105788 Atlanta, GA 30348-5788	Experian Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 9554, Allen, TX 75013	TransUnion Credit Freeze, P.O. Box 160, Woodlyn, PA 19094

 

Individuals may further educate themselves regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, credit freezes, and the steps they can take to protect their personal information by contacting the consumer reporting bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission, or their state Attorney General.  The Federal Trade Commission may be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580; www.identitytheft.gov; 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); and TTY: 1-866-653-4261.  The Federal Trade Commission also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them.  Individuals can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above.  Individuals have the right to file a police report if they ever experience identity theft or fraud.  Please note that in order to file a report with law enforcement for identity theft, individuals will likely need to provide some proof that they have been a victim.  Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement and the appropriate state Attorney General.  This notice has not been delayed by law enforcement.