Employees of the California Department of Consumer Affairs aren’t very happy today.  But things could be a lot worse.  Over 5,000 contractors and workers of the organization have become the victims of identity theft.  While the file that was misplaced contained titles and salaries, which are all public record, the real concern is that it also lists the social security numbers of everyone.  Russ Heimerich, a spokesman for the DCA, has said that the organization is taking all necessary steps to prevent anyone from using the information for fraudulent purposes.

The breach occurred on June 6 when a word document was incorrectly sent outside of the network.  No word has been given on why the file was not encrypted or how it was able to leave the system’s mainframe.  There are supposed to be security features enabled to prevent this type of breach from occurring.  According to Heimerich, officials at the DCA acted quickly to contain the breach. They sent out letters and emails to the affected contractors and workers to let them know of the data loss and to alert everyone to keep an eye out for identity theft.

This breach has struck some individuals as ironic, because the DCA is in charge of protecting consumers in the state of California.  Up through 2007, it was also responsible for educating people in the state about how to avoid fraudulent activity and deal with credit theft and misuse of personal information.  With the breach being made public, Heimerich was able to reassure people that there isn’t much to worry about.  The recipient of the email with the word attachment hasn’t even opened the file yet.

Heimerich has also assured those affected that the DCA will provide a year of credit monitoring services.  One of these services, Lifelock, locks your credit reports with all three credit bureaus.  The DCA has also said that it will pay for up to $25,000 worth of fraudulent activity that might take place on someone’s credit.  While the Lifelock services will alert consumers about new credit card and loan applications, it is good that the state is being so proactive in their efforts to fix any problems before they start.

In total, of the 5,000 affected individuals, only 2,800 of the people are still currently employed with the DCA.  The other 2,200 people are old contract workers, consultants, and people who are serving in only part time functions.  Other individuals are employed by various agencies throughout the state of California.  Members of the Office of Private Protection are not included in this alert, because their files are no longer stored in the same database as other agencies.  Experts note that the DCA has been very quick in taking all necessary precautions and that if anyone notices fraudulent activity, they should contact the DCA directly.