WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. — Independent Health said Friday that the names, member ID numbers and medical information for over 500 Williamsville School District employees were accidentally released to stop loss carriers and brokers.
The inadvertent breach took place between August 2019 and August 2021 and was discovered during a regular safety and security review. It did not include Social Security numbers or any other personal financial information.
“The embedded data that inadvertently remained in the secure report was due to human error and Independent Health has already implemented the necessary safety steps to address this and prevent further occurrences." said Frank Sava, spokesperson for IH.
"Protecting our customers’ privacy and keeping their information secure is critically important to Independent Health, and we deeply regret that this event occurred.”
Independent Health believes it's extremely unlikely any of the released information was misused and the leak went to business partners who fully understand requirements to keep data secure and private.
As a precaution, the company has arranged to provide the affected Williamsville school members with two years of free identity protection and monitoring.
Everyone whose information was released has been notified. Those with questions can call (716) 631-2661 or toll-free at 1-800-257-2753.
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