Lewes Board of Public Works notifies customers of potential data breach

• The Department of Homeland Security alerted the board that a hacker might have copied customer information from their customer information system by exploiting a software vulnerability.
• The customer information stolen by the hacker includes customer names, email addresses, payment card information, bank account details, account number, credentials, and expiration dates.

The Lewes Board of Public Works notified its customers that their information might have been compromised as part of a hacking attempt.

What happened?

The Lewes Board of Public Works became aware of the data breach on May 28, 2019, after the Department of Homeland Security alerted them that a hacker might have copied customer information from their customer information system by exploiting a software vulnerability.

• Upon receiving the notice, the board immediately isolated the customer information system and notified the software vendor about the vulnerability.
• The board is working closely with the vendor to identify and secure the suspected breach.
• They are also in contact with the state and federal agencies regarding the incident.

The Board is also notifying all the potentially impacted customers about the incident.

“Although we are not aware of any actual misuse of your information, we are providing notice to you and other potentially affected customers about steps you can take to protect yourself against possible identity theft or fraud,” the board said in a security notice.

What information was compromised?

The customer information stolen by the hacker includes customer names, email addresses, payment card information, bank account details, account number, credentials, and expiration dates.

What should you do?

• The board has recommended its customers to review their credit card and banking statements and report any suspicious activity to their financial institution.
• The board has also requested them to reset the passwords on affected accounts.

“To protect yourself from the possibility of identity theft or fraud, we recommend that you immediately contact your credit or debit card company, or bank as the case may be, and inform them that your information may have been compromised, and to follow any steps they may recommend,” the security notice read.