Data breach at Missouri Department of Conservation exposed employees' personal information
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) said Friday that its employees' personal information was leaked in a data breach earlier this year.
In February of this year, the MDC said its cybersecurity team notified it of unauthorized access to one of its servers.
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At first, the department said no personal information had been compromised in the data breach. However, in April, the MDC determined that some files had been impacted by the breach.
Specifically, the department has determined that current and former beneficiaries of the MDC's health benefits plan may have been impacted.
However, the MDC cannot confirm exactly what data has been affected for each of the impacted individuals.
The information involved may have included contact information (i.e., name, address, date of birth, phone number and email) and one or more of the following:
Health benefits plan enrollment information
Other personal information, such as Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers or state ID numbers.
The department said it's continuing to investigate with the help of law enforcement.
In the meantime, the MDC said individuals can take the following steps to protect themselves:
Monitor any benefits statements received from health care providers, as well as bank and credit card statements, credit reports and other similar documents for any unfamiliar activity.
Contact your medical provider or health plan if you identify health care services that you did not receive on your benefits statement.
Contact your financial institution, credit card company or other applicable agency if you notice any suspicious activity on bank or credit card statements or on tax returns.
Contact local law enforcement authorities if you believe that you are a victim of a crime.
The department said it has implemented additional safeguards in addition to the IT security policies and procedures already in effect.
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The MDC said it's in the process of providing direct, written notification to potentially impacted individuals. The department said it has also provided substitute notification on its website for potentially impacted individuals who may not have sufficient address information on file with the department.
'MDC regrets the inconvenience and concern that this incident may have caused to our team, retirees, and current or former beneficiaries of our health benefits plan,' the department said in a news release.
The MDC said it will provide complimentary credit monitoring services to impacted individuals who are concerned their information may have been compromised.
More information about complimentary credit monitoring services will be provided in the coming weeks, the department said.
Those who believe they have been affected by this data breach can contact the MDC toll-free at 800-392-3111 or PrivacySupport@mdc.mo.gov.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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