FBI probing breach that may have compromised identities of Covid patients

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating a data breach that may have exposed the identities of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients in the state of South Dakota, the Rapid City Journal reported.

The US newspaper reported on Friday, citing a letter from the state's Department of Public Safety, that on June 19, there was a data breach that targeted servers belonging to a third-party database shared between the Department of Health and law enforcement.

The servers belong to a web development firm called Netsential.com, Inc., the report said.

Moreover, the identities of COVID-19 patients in South Dakota may be available on other internet sites with links to files from the firm, the report said.

Law enforcement used the third-party database to develop an online portal to help first responders stay safe while responding to calls by identifying whether someone at a house had been infected with the virus, the report said.

The report noted that no financial information, social security numbers, or internet passwords belonging to the patients were stolen.