Data Breach at Lutheran Social Services of Illinois Affects Over 150,000 Individuals

• Lutheran Social Services of Illinois reported a data breach that occurred on December 31, 2021, affecting 150,659 individuals, compromising names and Social Security numbers.
• The organization is offering affected individuals complimentary credit monitoring and fraud assistance services for 12 months, and has taken steps to enhance its information security practices to prevent future incidents.

Lutheran Social Services of Illinois (LSSI), a non-profit organization located at 1001 Touhy Ave in Des Plaines, Illinois, has reported a significant data breach affecting 150,659 individuals. The breach occurred on December 31, 2021, but was only discovered almost a year later on December 28, 2022.

According to a statement submitted by Spencer Pollock, an attorney from McDonald Hopkins PLC representing LSSI, the organization’s network was compromised by a ransomware attack. The breach was an external system hack which exposed sensitive information, including names and Social Security numbers of affected individuals.

Upon discovery of the breach on January 27, 2022, LSSI took immediate steps to contain the threat by disabling and isolating affected systems. The organization also commenced a thorough investigation, seeking the expertise of external cybersecurity professionals. Law enforcement and appropriate state and federal regulatory agencies were notified of the incident.

On December 28, 2022, LSSI confirmed that personal information on its systems had been potentially accessed by an unauthorized party between December 31, 2021, and January 27, 2022. The organization then initiated the process of notifying the individuals who may have been affected by this incident.

As part of its response, LSSI has taken various measures to safeguard information and prevent future incidents. This includes revising its information security practices and enhancing existing security systems.

Furthermore, to help protect the affected individuals, LSSI is offering complimentary Single Bureau Credit Monitoring, Single Bureau Credit Report, and Single Bureau Credit Score services for 12 months. This service will provide alerts for any changes occurring in credit files. Additionally, LSSI is providing proactive fraud assistance through Cyberscout via Identity Force, a TransUnion company specializing in fraud assistance and remediation services. This program is free of charge and will not affect credit scores.

LSSI has also advised individuals to consider additional precautionary measures, such as placing a Fraud Alert or Security Freeze on credit files, and monitoring financial account statements and credit reports for any irregular activity.