Greylock McKinnon Associates (GMA) has discovered a data breach in which hackers gained access to 341,650 Social Security numbers.
The data breach was disclosed last week on Friday on Maine's government website, where the state issues data breach notifications.
In its data breach warning mailed to impacted individuals, GMA stated that it was targeted by an undisclosed cyberattack in May 2023 and "promptly took steps to mitigate the incident."
GMA provides economic and litigation support to companies and government agencies in the United States, including the Department of Justice, that are involved in civil action. According to their data breach notification, GMA informed affected individuals that their personal information "was obtained by the U.S. Department of Justice ("DOJ") as part of a civil litigation matter" supported by GMA.
The purpose and target of the DOJ's civil litigation are unknown. A Justice Department representative did not return a request for comment.
GMA stated that individuals that were notified of the data breach are "not the subject of this investigation or the associated litigation matters," adding that the cyberattack "does not impact your current Medicare benefits or coverage.”
“We consulted with third-party cybersecurity specialists to assist with our response to the incident, and we notified law enforcement and the DOJ. We received confirmation of which individuals’ information was affected and obtained their contact addresses on February 7, 2024,” the firm noted.
GMA notified victims that "your private and Medicare data was likely affected in this incident," which included names, dates of birth, home addresses, some medical and health insurance information, and Medicare claim numbers, including Social Security numbers.
It remains unknown why GMA took nine months to discover the scope of the incident and notify victims. GMA and its outside legal counsel, Linn Freedman of Robinson & Cole LLP, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.