Nevada medical marijuana database hacked, confidential owner, employee data compromised
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Wed, 12/28/2016 - 5:53pm
Nevada's Division of Public Behavioral Health is investigating a cyber-attack on its medical marijuana program database where confidential information involving owners and employees of establishments has been compromised, officials said Wednesday.
Nevada State Medical Marijuana Program officials became aware Wednesday that application information about individuals with medical marijuana agent cards, such as employees and owners of medical marijuana establishments, has been disclosed. The information includes Social Security numbers and dates of birth. At this time, private patient information is considered to be secure.
“The entire portal has been taken down,” said Cody Phinney, DPBH administrator. “To prevent further breaches, the Division’s IT staff are working with state IT staff, investigating the breach. We appreciate everyone’s patience during this difficult time. As more information is known, the public will be notified.”
In addition to contacting the individuals involved, the Division is notifying three major credit reporting agencies of this database breach: Equifax (800) 525-6285; Experian (888) 397-3742; and TransUnion (800) 680-7289. Agent cardholders are encouraged to report to these agencies that their individual information was compromised in this breach.
The incident has been referred to law enforcement agencies for further investigation.
Go here for more information about the Division of Public and Behavioral Health.
