Jepsen
HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) - Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen has said that consumers should be provided with identity theft and credit protections following a recent database breach of online purchases from the University of Connecticut Co-op.
"The situation calls into question the effectiveness of the Co-op's measures to protect the confidentiality and security of private information received from its customers," Jepsen said.
"It is imperative that breaches of this sort do not reoccur and that affected individuals are provided sufficient protections to safeguard their information from misuse."
Jepsen's office learned of the database breach this week from a UConn Co-op representative.
"In this era of increasing reliance on technology, it is vitally important that all entities entrusted with nonpublic personal information employ the highest levels of data security," Jepsen said.
Jepsen, in a letter to the legal counsel for the Co-op and its website, HuskyDirect.com, requested information about the number of consumers affected, the personal information lost, steps that are being taken to track down the hacker, and what plan, if any, the Co-op has to prevent future breaches. Jepsen's letter asked that this information be provided by Jan. 20.
"Critical facts concerning this data breach remain unclear, including its cause, the steps taken to protect the affected individuals and whether new procedures have been adopted to prevent future breaches," Jepsen said.
Additionally, Jepsen has said that he expects the Co-op to provide affected consumers with identity theft and credit protections at no charge.