“Data breach” exposes Muncie city employee social security numbers

MUNCIE, Indiana – The city of Muncie is offering a credit monitoring service to its employees after a “data breach” exposed their personal information, including Social Security numbers.

Between May 6 and July 12, that data — including information from W-2 forms issued to about 600 city and Muncie Sanitary District employees — was “inadvertently emailed to an unintended recipient due to a sophisticated social engineering scheme,” according to a memo Mayor Dan Ridenour sent to his staff earlier this month.

“While we have no evidence of attempted or actual misuse of your information as a result of this incident, we are providing you with information about the incident, our response, and steps you can take to help protect your information if you feel appropriate,” Ridenour wrote.

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The mayor did not publicly disclose the incident. In his memo, he said city officials “worked with law enforcement and conducted a thorough investigation to determine the full extent and nature of the incident.”

The mayor said employees were informed of the incident “out of an abundance of caution.”

Ridenour said the city will offer a credit monitoring service to its employees for a year and also urged city employees to “remain vigilant and review and monitor all of their bank statements and credit history.”

This article originally appeared in the Muncie Star Press: Mayor says 'data breach' exposed city employee's personal information