What You Need To Know About The Louisiana’s Office Of Motor Vehicles Data Breach

On Thursday, June 15, the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles (OMV) experienced a data security breach resulting in the loss of the personal information of potentially millions of Louisianans due to exploitation by hackers of a vulnerability in a MOVEit software program. The OMV announced that it suspects the personal data of all individuals in Louisiana who possess a state-issued driver’s license, ID, or car registration may have been exposed to criminal cyber attackers, a ransomware gang known as “Clop.”

Louisiana’s Office of Motor Vehicles (OMV) utilizes MOVEit, a popular data transfer service. On Thursday, June 15, MOVEit reported the theft of personal information in an international cyberattack. 

Currently, there is no indication that cyber attackers who breached MOVEit have sold, used, shared or released the OMV data obtained from the MOVEit attack. OMV believes that all Louisianans with a state-issued driver’s license, ID, or car registration have likely had the following data exposed to the cyber attackers:

1. Name 
2. Address
3. Social Security Number
4. Birthdate
5. Height
6. Eye Color
7. Driver’s License Number
8. Vehicle Registration Information
9. Handicap Placard Information

All Louisianans are urged to take immediate steps to safeguard their identity. 

Steps to Take:

• Monitor all of your account transactions regularly for any suspicious activity.
• Monitor credit reports for errors and get one free annual report at annualcreditreport.com. 
• Consider freezing your credit, which stops others from opening new accounts and borrowing money in your name.  Freezing your credit does not prevent the use of any existing credit cards or accounts.  Freezing your credit may be done quickly online or by contacting the three major credit bureaus:
  • Experian: 1-888-397-3742; www.experian.com/freeze
  • Equifax: 1-800-685-1111; www.equifax.com/personal/credit-report-services/credit- freeze/
  • TransUnion: 1-888-909-8872; www.transunion.com/credit-freeze
• Update passwords and usernames often by using a combination of letters (lower- and upper-case letters), numbers, and special characters.
• Contact your credit union or bank immediately if you suspect any of your accounts have been compromised.

To receive the most up to date information regarding the breach, please visit the OMV website.

(Partially reprinted from the Louisiana Credit Union League)