83 children in York, Adams counties affected by statewide data breach

(York) —  More than 1,800 children, including 83 in York and Adams counties, had sensitive information compromised in a statewide data security breach, according to the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania.

Personal identity information, including names, addresses, dates of birth and social security numbers, as well as public health information, might have been publicly viewable online, Ken Kroski, the CCAP director of media and public relations, said in an email.

The incident, which occurred in May, temporarily exposed information in Children and Youth Services databases maintained by a third-party vendor, Avanco International. This was “not a cyberattack, not phishing, not hacking,” Kroski said. 

The breach affected 53 people in Adams County and 30 in York County, Kroski said.

County-owned systems were not affected, and an investigation showed no indication that the information was “inappropriately used,” Kroski said. Notices were sent to those affected on June 30. 

When the situation was discovered by a county children and youth worker, CCAP obtained the services of legal counsel with cyber law expertise to remove the information from the Internet and conduct an investigation.

“Counties understand their obligation to ensure sensitive information about the people they serve is kept secure, and take this incident very seriously,” Kroski said. “They are confident the measures put in place will provide the necessary privacy and security their clients expect in order to ensure our children are given the care and protection they deserve.”

This article is part of a partnership between WITF and the Hanover Evening Sun.