Department of Social & Health Services Data Breach (2014)

The personal information of up to 7,000 households receiving assistance from the state Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) was sent in error to incorrect or old addresses, according the state Economic Services Administration (ESA). The administration confirmed in a news statement released Thursday that the private information of at least 2,600 and possibly up to 7,000 client households may have been compromised when a coding error caused letters to be mailed to previous addresses. The letters were mailed between Aug. 19 and Oct. 26 when the error was discovered and corrected, according to the state. ESA said the majority of the letters contained the clients name, address and identification number. Some, however, may have also included home phone numbers, contact information, date of birth, Social Security number, medical diagnosis or disability, other medical, chemical dependency or treatment information, employment or earnings information, and what public-assistance services the client was receiving.