Data breach in Tampa Bay affects over 1 million people, might be linked to Russian gangs

Authorities believe a data hack affecting more than 1 million people in the Tampa Bay region is the work of a Russian gang.

The State Department is offering a $10 million prize for information regarding the Clop ransomware group, which they suspect is responsible for a wave of data breaches.

The breach, which affects customers in the Tampa Bay area, affected Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, Tampa General Hospital, HCA Hospitals, and Hillsborough County.

To safeguard themselves, Hillsborough County Consumer Protection Services’ Eric Olsen advises consumers to keep a tight eye on their personal data.

“Well, if you’ve had a compromise that’s known, you have to be on alert because something might not happen today, but it might happen a few months down the road and so credit monitoring is so that just in case that does happen you are aware,” said Olsen.

The data breach has exposed the names, phone numbers, email addresses, and social security numbers of people affected.

According to security experts, fraudsters can use this information to obtain credit cards and other lines of credit in someone’s name, potentially making them liable for big costs.

“Consumers can check their credit at annualcreditreport.com and open any of the free, there’s three credit bureaus and you can check one or all of your credit reports, at least weekly until the end of this year,” Olsen explained.

Some services will offer to monitor your credit for a cost, he says, but individuals should conduct their research on those companies before signing up.