Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation Takes Action to Address Security Breach

The Agency for Workforce Innovation is continuing to take action to address a security breach that recently occurred on a test server. Upon discovery, the Agency immediately contacted the appropriate law enforcement agencies, began a thorough investigation and promptly coordinated with all major external search engine companies to ensure the information was no longer accessible to the public. The Agency has no reason to believe any personal information has been accessed for unlawful purposes.

"We are committed to serving the people of Florida and to maintaining the public trust at its highest level," said Monesia T. Brown, director of the Agency. "We are thoroughly investigating this matter and are making every effort to enhance the security of our computer systems."

The security breach occurred on an Agency test server for 19 days in October 2008 and resulted in the exposure of the names and Social Security numbers of approximately 250,000 customers who received services through Florida's One-Stop Career Centers between January 2002 and November 2007.

The Agency is also taking the following actions:

• Notifications are currently being mailed to the affected customers.
• A complete review of the Agency's technology policies and procedures is underway.
• All affected partners are being notified to ensure optimal customer service and assistance to concerned Floridians.
• Management teams are continuing to work diligently to protect the confidentiality of stored personal data.

To protect against identity theft, the Florida Attorney General's Office recommends concerned Floridians should:

• Carefully review credit and debit card statements and monitor all transactions. If unauthorized activity is detected, they should immediately contact their card company and/or bank.
• Learn about preventing identity theft by visiting the Florida Attorney General'sWeb site and click on the Fraud and Scams link under Consumer Protection.
• Access a free credit history report and information on how to place a free fraud alert on their files in national credit databases from the Attorney General's website, listed above.