Chattanooga has sent notices to 836 people affected by a 2024 data breach of one of the city’s former contractor’s systems.
The notices describe what data was compromised in the breach and how people affected can access free identity protection service from the city.
In a news release Thursday afternoon, Eric Holl, a spokesperson for Mayor Tim Kelly, said that the city would also consider taking legal action against the contractor, Nationwide Recovery Services of Cleveland, Tennessee, alleging a failure to notify those impacted by the breach.
The city acknowledged earlier this month that some city data stored with Nationwide was compromised through the breach, which occurred in July 2024.
Nationwide informed the city of the breach in February, Holl said in an April 4 release. In the February notice, Nationwide representatives said that they had first informed the city of a problem with the data’s security in July. The debt collector reported the breach to the Federal Trade Commission in September. Representatives of Kelly’s office have said that they learned of the breach April 4.
The city this month withdrew a contract with Nationwide and is now seeking a new contractor to handle its debt services.
Parts of Hamilton County government, Vitruvian Health and Rhea Medical Center, which also contracted with Nationwide, were likewise affected by the breach. Hamilton County’s commission voted in 2022 on a five-year contract with Nationwide.
— Compiled by Mariah Franklin
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