COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) – The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) alerted the public to a privacy breach Friday after customer data was wrongfully accessed.
According to information issued by the HHSC More than 61,000 people who have applied for or received Medicaid, or benefits from children’s health insurance programs or food stamps were affected by a recent internal data breach.
Although an internal issue, KBTX spoke with an I-T expert who said consumers can take steps to protect themselves in the event of a data breach.
“You have to be always vigilant and do everything you can to protect yourself,” said the Owner of Preactive IT Solutions, Charles Swihart.
The HHSC is now offering two years of free credit monitoring and identity protection services to those involved in the breach. Swihart says people should take advantage of it and explained that data breaches happen more frequently than we may realize.
“I think the biggest thing to do is contact the three big reporting agencies and freeze your credit reports where someone cannot use your credit to finance something without you first unlocking it,” explained Swihart.
The agency says people affected by the breach will be notified by mail no later than Monday.
Copyright 2025 KBTX. All rights reserved.