The MCS Group (“MCS”) is providing notice of an event that may affect the privacy of information of certain individuals. MCS received this information in connection with services it provides regarding legal matters in which the impacted parties were involved or associated. This notice provides information about the event, MCS’s response to it, and resources available to individuals to help protect their information, should they feel it necessary to do so.
What Happened? On December 25, 2020, MCS identified suspicious activity related to certain MCS systems. Upon discovery, MCS immediately commenced an investigation, which included working with third-party forensic investigators, to determine the full nature and scope of the incident and to secure its network. Through this investigation, MCS determined that an unauthorized actor gained access to certain systems within its environment in December 2020 that store information related to services that MCS provides. As a result, the unauthorized actor may have gained access to or acquired information located within these systems.
What Information Was Involved? MCS, with the assistance of third-party forensic investigators, conducted an extensive programmatic and manual review of the accessed systems to identify the types of information stored therein and to whom it relates. MCS is providing notice of this incident to those whose information was present in the affected systems and may have been viewed or taken by an unauthorized actor. While the specific data elements vary for each potentially affected individual, the scope of information potentially involved includes individuals’ names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, financial account information, and username and password combinations. MCS has no reason to believe that any identity theft or unauthorized use of the affected information has occurred, and provided notice of the event in an abundance of caution.
How Will Individuals Know If They Are Affected By This Incident? MCS is mailing notice letters to the individuals identified as impacted for whom they have valid mailing addresses. If an individual did not receive a letter but would like to know if they are affected, they may call MCS’s dedicated assistance line, detailed below.
What Is MCS Doing? MCS has strict security measures to protect the information in its possession, and has worked to add further technical safeguards to its environment. Following this incident, MCS took immediate steps to improve the security of its environment and increase its security posture. MCS also implemented additional training and education to employees to prevent similar future incidents. MCS also notified appropriate state regulators as required.
Whom Should Individuals Contact For More Information? If individuals have questions or would like additional information, they may call MCS’s dedicated assistance line, (877) 644-1116 between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.
What You Can Do? MCS encourages individuals to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud, to review account statements and explanation of benefits forms, and to monitor free credit reports for suspicious activity and to detect errors. Under U.S. law individuals are entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus. To order a free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877-322-8228. Individuals may also contact the three major credit bureaus directly to request a free copy of their credit report, place a fraud alert, or a security freeze. Contact information for the credit bureaus is below:
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 you are a victim of identity theft, you are entitled to an extended fraud alert, which is a fraud alert lasting seven years
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