PORTLAND, Ore. — Cybersecurity experts said there are steps you can take right now to protect your personal information. This follows a data breach, potentially impacting millions of Oregonians.
The Oregon Department of Transportation said an international attack exploited company software used by the DMV. Right now, they do not know what information was accessed.
Staff at ODOT said the state added more security measures after learning about a breach on June 1st to a private software called MOVEit used by many agencies, including the DMV.
The director at the Portland-based cybersecurity company Purple Folder said these kinds of attacks are becoming more and more common.
“I am surprised at the avenue with which the attack took place. Generally when there are large data sets involved, being moved or transferred, that contain personal information they’re supposed to have several layers of encryption,” said Chris Berge.
Berge now recommends monitoring credit activity for fraud, as well as applying a free credit freeze through Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion.
“No new applications for credit in your name will process through until that freeze is removed. So, if you’re going to get a new credit card, apply for a car loan, get a mortgage loan you have to manually remove that freeze from the credit bureaus before you’ll be allowed to proceed,” he said.
KATU spoke with Oregon drivers to learn more about their concerns. Some are already taking action.
“My wife woke up this morning and she saw the report and she spent the morning putting a freeze on her credit,” Mark Garzotto said.
Garzotto said he applied for a credit freeze a few years ago, and now he hopes lawmakers are paying attention.
“I think data security is something that needs to be looked at. We should look at what happened in this situation and see if anything could have been done that would have improved the situation and try to learn from it as we move forward,” Garzotto said.
The Washington Department of Licensing said they have not experienced a breach. KATU reached out to ODOT to see if the DMV learned more about this attack, and we’re still waiting to hear back at this time.
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