New York Legal Assistance Group Provides Notice Of Data Event

NEW YORK, Nov.  27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- New York Legal Assistance Group ("NYLAG") is providing notice of an incident involving potential unauthorized access to personal information. To date, NYLAG has not received any reports that personal information has been misused as a result of this incident.

On September 8, 2020 NYLAG discovered unusual activity in an employee email account and immediately launched an investigation with the assistance of a third-party computer forensic investigator to determine the full nature and scope of what occurred. Through this investigation, NYLAG determined that an unknown actor gained access to certain NYLAG employee email accounts between August 15, 2020 and September 24, 2020. Upon discovery, NYLAG performed a password reset on its network to further protect information.  

The confidentiality, privacy, and security of information is one of NYLAG's highest priorities. Immediately after learning of the incident, NYLAG launched an investigation to determine the full nature and scope of what occurred.  The investigation determined the following type of information was contained in the email accounts: name, Social Security number, driver's license or other government issued ID number, financial account information, passport number, and payment card information.  NYLAG also implemented additional security measures to further protect information.

Although NYLAG is unaware of any actual or attempted misuse of any information, it is providing notice of this incident out of an abundance of caution. NYLAG also encourages individuals who believe they may be impacted by this incident to contact its dedicated assistance line for additional information, including information about free credit monitoring and identity protection services NYLAG is making available.        

Please visit the NYLAG website at https://www.nylag.org for more information.  Potentially affected individuals may also consider the information and resources outlined below.

NYLAG encourages potentially impacted individuals to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud, to review account statements, and to monitor their credit reports for suspicious activity.  Individuals may contact the three major credit reporting agencies for advice on how to obtain free credit reports and how to place fraud alerts and security freezes on credit files. The relevant contact information is below:

Potentially impacted individuals may also find information regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, security freezes and the steps they may take to protect their information by contacting the credit bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission or their state Attorney General. The Federal Trade Commission can be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC  20580; www.identitytheft.gov; 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); and TTY: 1-866-653-4261.  New York residents can contact the attorney general at Office of the Attorney General, The Capitol, Albany, NY 12224-0341; 1-800-771-7755; https://ag.ny.gov/.

SOURCE New York Legal Assistance Group