The First Judicial Circuit of Florida encourages individuals to take steps to protect their personal information. The most recent press release can be found HERE
Table of Contents
1. Overview
2. What Happened and What Has the Circuit Done?
3. What Information Was Involved?
4. What Information Was Not Affected?
5. What Can I Do to Protect My Information?
Overview
The First Judicial Circuit of Florida (“Circuit”) is sharing information relating to a cyber incident. While impacted individuals may receive notice of this incident separately, the Circuit is sharing details broadly on our website.
What Happened and What the Circuit Has Done?
Upon detecting suspicious activity on its network, the Circuit responded quickly, temporarily disconnecting our systems to mitigate risk to sensitive information. The Circuit began investigating the cyber incident, including coordinating with law enforcement authorities, and utilizing Mandiant, leading global cybersecurity experts, to assist our team in the forensic investigation and remediation efforts. The Circuit worked quickly to restore safe and secure access to court operations, services, and systems.
What information Was Involved?
Review and analysis of the affected data involved in this cyber incident is ongoing. While the impacted information varies based on the individual and their relationship with the Circuit, the following information may have been accessed as a result of this incident: name; Social Security number; taxpayer identification number; date of birth; driver’s license information; and state identification number. In addition, for some individuals, certain types of health and insurance information may also have been accessed.
What Information Was Not Affected?
The Clerks of the Court in Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, and Walton Counties maintain the official records of the court in a separate system. As a result, based on the investigation to date, the Clerks’ records and data are not impacted by this incident.
What Can I Do to Protect My Information?
The Circuit recommends individuals take steps to protect their personal information including:
1. Reviewing Your Accounts for Suspicious Activity.
You are encouraged to remain vigilant by regularly reviewing your personal accounts and monitoring credit reports for suspicious activity.
2. Ordering a Credit Report.
If you are a U.S. resident, you are entitled under U.S. law to one free credit report annually from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting agencies. To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call toll-free at 1-877-322-8228. If you discover information on your credit report arising from a fraudulent transaction, you should request that the credit reporting agency delete that information from your credit report file. Contact information for the nationwide credit reporting agencies is provided in the next section.
3. Contacting the Federal Trade Commission, Law Enforcement, and Credit Bureaus.
You may contact the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), your state’s Attorney General’s office, or law enforcement, to report incidents of identity theft or to learn about steps you can take to protect yourself from identity theft. To learn more, you can go to the FTC’s websites at www.identitytheft.gov and www.ftc.gov/idtheft; call the FTC at (877) IDTHEFT (438-4338); or write to: FTC Consumer Response Center, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580.
You may contact the consumer reporting agencies at:
a. Equifax: (800) 525-6285; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, Georgia, 30374; or www.equifax.com.
b. Experian: (888) 397-3742; P.O. Box 9701, Allen, TX 75013; or www.experian.com.
c. TransUnion: (800) 916-8800; Fraud Victim Assistance Division, P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19022; or www.transunion.com.
4. Considering Additional Rights Under the FCRA.
You have rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, such as the right to be told if information in your credit file has been used against you, the right to know what is in your credit file, the right to ask for your credit score, and the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. Further, pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the consumer reporting agencies must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information; consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information; access to your file is limited; you must give your consent for credit reports to be provided to employers; you may limit “prescreened” offers of credit and insurance you get based on information in your credit report; and you may seek damages from violators. You may have additional rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act not summarized here.
Identity theft victims and active-duty military personnel have specific additional rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. We encourage you to review your rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act by: (i) visiting https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/bcfp_consumer-rights-summa... or (ii) by writing to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 1700 G Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20552.
5. Request Fraud Alerts and Security Freezes.
You may obtain additional information from the FTC and the credit reporting agencies about fraud alerts and security freezes. You can add a fraud alert to your credit report file to help protect your credit information. A fraud alert can make it more difficult for someone to get credit in your name because it tells creditors to follow certain procedures to protect you, but it also may delay your ability to obtain credit. You may place a fraud alert in your file by calling just one of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies listed above. As soon as that agency processes your fraud alert, it will notify the other two agencies, which then must also place fraud alerts in your file.
To place a fraud alert, call any one of the three major credit bureaus at the numbers listed below. As soon as one credit bureau confirms your fraud alert, they will notify the others.
Equifax
P.O. Box 105788
Atlanta, GA 30348
https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-fraud-ale...
(800) 525-6285 Experian
P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013
https://www.experian.com/fraud/center.html
(888) 397-3742 TransUnion LLC
P.O. Box 6790
Fullerton, PA 92834-6790
https://www.transunion.com/fraud-alerts
(800) 680-7289
If you are very concerned about becoming a victim of fraud or identity theft, you may request a “Security Freeze” be placed on your credit file, at no charge. A security freeze prohibits, with certain specific exceptions, the consumer reporting agencies from releasing your credit report or any information from it without your express authorization. You may place a security freeze on your credit report by contacting all three nationwide credit reporting companies at the numbers below and following the stated directions or by sending a request in writing, by mail, to all three credit reporting companies:
Equifax Security Freeze
P.O. Box 105788
Atlanta, GA 30348
https://www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit-freeze/
1-800-349-9960 Experian Security Freeze
P.O. Box 9554
Allen, TX 75013
1-888-397-3742 TransUnion Security Freeze
P.O. Box 2000
Chester, PA 19016
http://www.transunion.com/creditfreeze
1-888-909-8872
In order to place the security freeze, you will need to supply your name, address, date of birth, Social Security number and other personal information. After receiving your freeze request, each credit reporting company will send you a confirmation letter containing a unique PIN (personal identification number) or password. Keep the PIN or password in a safe place. You will need it if you choose to lift the freeze.
If your personal information has been used to file a false tax return, to open an account or to attempt to open an account in your name or to commit fraud or other crimes against you, you may file a police report in the city in which you currently reside.
If you do place a security freeze prior to enrolling in the credit monitoring service as described above, you will need to remove the freeze in order to sign up for the credit monitoring service. After you sign up for the credit monitoring service, you may refreeze your credit file.