COC alerts employees to thirdparty data breach 

pUnauthorized data breach via the colleges insurance provider affects more than 2400 current former employees ppCollege of the Canyons is communicating with more than 2400 affected personnel after an unauthorized data breach through its insurance provider according to Eric Harnish a spokesman for the collegeppKeenan Associates a Torrancebased consulting and brokerage firm which has the Santa Clarita Community College District as one of its clients was breached by an unauthorized party between Aug 21 and Aug 27 according to a letter sent to COC and the state Attorney Generals Office on Dec 12 The letter states that the company was the target of a ransomware incidentppOn Sunday August 27 2023 we discovered certain disruptions occurring on some Keenan network servers the letter reads We immediately began an investigation and engaged thirdparty cybersecurity and forensic experts to assist Upon detection we took prompt action to contain it We also notified law enforcementppThe investigation determined that an unauthorized party gained access to certain internal systems at various times between approximately August 21 2023 and August 27 2023 and that the unauthorized party obtained some data from Keenan systems the letter added A thorough review of that data was conducted to identify what information was involved and identify individuals to whom the data relatedppPrivate information including Social Security numbers and health insurance information was determined to be retrieved by the unauthorized party after a thorough investigation according to the letter ppThe review determined that the data involved contained some of your personal information including your name and one or more of the following Social Security number drivers license number passport number general health information health insurance information and other employmentrelated information the letter reads ppKeenan is expected to contact those who have been affected by the breach after the holiday break Harnish said ppAccording to Harnish Keenan reported more than 2400 current and former employees as well as dependents of employees were affected by the breach No students were affected Harnish added ppHarnish said theres no evidence of any personal information being used as a result of the breach ppWe apologize that this incident occurred and will continue to work with Keenan to ensure that these types of incidents will not occur in the future reads an email from COC to affected employees ppIn an effort to ensure further protection for its client Keenan offered a complimentary 24month membership to Experian IdentityWorks ppThis product helps detect possible misuse of your personal information and provides you with identity protection services focused on immediate identification and resolution of identity theft the letter reads IdentityWorks is completely free to you and enrolling in this program will not hurt your credit score ppAffected employees have until March 31 to enroll in the program ppKeenan takes the security of your personal information seriously and sincerely regrets that this incident occurred the letter addedppFilled with the top stories to start your day and emergency news alerts pp25060 Avenue Stanford St 141ppValencia CA 91355ppMain Desk 6612591234ppNewsroom 6612551234ppAdvertising 6612875564ppHave a news tip Let us knowpp 2020 The Santa Clarita Valley Signal The Signal is property of Paladin MultiMedia Group Inc p