The Office of Motor Vehicles announced that they have retained Norton LifeLock to offer one year of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection for Louisiana residents impacted by the recent MOVEIt data breach. The complimentary 12-month package includes LifeLock Standard™ identity theft protection.
A release from the governor's office says "to activate your membership online and get protection at no cost to you, please see enrollment instructions available at nextsteps.la.gov. OMV will also be emailing notices to individuals with an email on file whose information was involved in the incident."
Additionally, OMV has established a toll-free call center open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week to answer questions that individuals may have. If you believe your information was involved and have questions about this incident, please call (866) 861-8717.
These resources are being offered in response to the MOVEIt data security incident announced last month that involved personal information of individuals who were issued a Louisiana driver’s license, identification card and/or vehicle registrations.
OMV encourages all Louisianans whose information was involved in this incident to actively monitor for the possibility of fraud and identity theft by reviewing your financial statements and credit reports for any unauthorized activity. If you notice any unauthorized activity, contact the relevant financial institution or the credit bureau reporting the activity immediately.
For more information on how to protect your identity and a list of FAQ, visit nextsteps.la.gov. To read the official notice posted by OMV, visit expresslane.org.
When the breach happened back in May, state officials said that the OMV believed all residents with a state-issued driver's license, identification card or car registration had their information exposed to hackers.
The OMV release does not state how OMV would have anyone's email address and we've been unable to reach their public affairs office.
The release says that the "OMV established a dedicated, toll-free call center to answer questions that individuals may have and is offering twelve (12) months of free credit monitoring and identify theft protection from LifeLock to involved Louisiana residents. If you believe your information was involved and have any questions about this incident, including how to sign up for free credit monitoring and identity theft protection, please review information about the incident at https://nextsteps.la.gov/substitute-notice. If you have additional questions, please visit https://nextsteps.la.gov/ or call 866.861.8717."
You can read our stories about the breach here and here. We also posted a story here with advice from an expert on what to do.
Here's what today's press release says about it:
"On May 31, 2023, Progress Software Corporation, which developed and supports the MOVEit managed file transfer platform, notified all customers across the globe, including OMV, of a zero-day vulnerability that an unauthorized party used to access and acquire data without authorization. Upon learning of the incident, immediate measures were taken to secure the MOVEIt environment utilized to transfer files. A thorough investigation was conducted, and it was determined that there was unauthorized acquisition of, and access to, OMV files in the MOVEIt environment.
"Through a thorough analysis, OMV determined that files involved in the incident contained the personal information of individuals who applied for and/or were issued a Louisiana driver’s license, identification card, and/or vehicle registration. The information varied by individual but included name and one or more of the following: address, date of birth, Social Security number, driver’s license, learner’s permit, or identification card number, height, eye color, vehicle registration information, and handicap placard information."
The release repeats advice provided by state officials back when the breach was announced.
And, it adds the assurance that, "to help prevent something like this from happening again, additional safeguards and technical security measures have been implemented to further protect and monitor the MOVEIt environment."
