Thousands of state residents affected in data breach by former DSHS employee

The compromised information included names, dates of birth and social security numbers among other personal information.

Blue and green Department of Social and Health Services sign mounted on a brick wall in Washington state.

My Bellingham NowEmma ToscaniThe sign outside the Washington state Dept of Social and Health Services Bellingham office.

OLYMPIA, WA (MyBellinghamNow.com) – Thousands of Washington residents may have had their personal information exposed in a data breach at a state agency.

The Washington state Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) said it discovered in March that an employee had accessed personal information from a client data system for non-work related reasons. The department said the employee was immediately terminated and they are cooperating fully with law enforcement agencies during the investigation.

The compromised information included names, dates of birth, social security numbers and the general category of services people received from the department.

According to KOMO, the employee accessed 8,600 records during the breach.

DSHS said there’s no evidence that the breach included any specific health information, such as diagnoses, test results, treatments, claims or chart notes.

The department said it’s reaching out to anyone whose information could have been viewed. Anyone who may have been affected is being encouraged to monitor their DSHS and personal financial accounts for any suspicious activity.