Valley County is notifying individuals of an issue related to its online portal. On April 6, 2021, Valley County became aware of a potential configuration issue relating to an online portal used for public record searches. The portal utilized software licensed from a third-party vendor to house documents online, allowing county residents to search for copies of their recorded documents, including marriage licenses, death certificates, and other court records. Valley County discovered some of these documents were not properly redacted by the software and that personal information in these documents could have potentially been accessible to the public via the portal between January of 2020 and April of 2021. Though there is no evidence of attempted or actual misuse of this information, as a precautionary measure, the documents available on the online portal were taken down and then reviewed to determine what, if any, personal information may have been contained within the records. On August 11, 2021, this extensive review was complete, and Valley County has been working diligently to obtain the contact information of individuals since that time.
The investigation determined that the personal information accessible on the portal could include personal information such as date of birth, passport number, Social Security number, medical information, marriage certificate, death certificate, biometric data, and facial photographs. The types of personal information potentially accessible varies per individual.
Valley County takes this incident and the security of personal information in their care very seriously. Upon learning of this incident, Valley County moved quickly to investigate and respond to this incident, assess the security of the relevant portal, and notify potentially affected individuals. Their response included reviewing the contents of the information available on the online portal to determine whether it contained personal information and reviewing internal systems to identify contact information for purposes of providing notice to potentially affected individuals. As part of their ongoing commitment to the security of information, Valley County is also reviewing and enhancing existing policies and procedures to reduce the likelihood of a similar future event.
Valley County is mailing notice to those individuals whose information was potentially accessible on the portal at the time of this event. In that notice, Valley County is providing access to credit monitoring as well as guidance on how to protect against identity theft and fraud, should they feel it is necessary to do so. While Valley County is unaware of misuse of information, Valley County encourages those who may be impacted to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud by reviewing account statements and monitoring free credit reports. Valley County also established a dedicated call center to assist those who may be impacted by this event. Those who may be impacted can also find additional information and links to consumer credit reporting agencies here.
If you have any additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to call the dedicated, toll-free number at (888) 994-0269 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 10 p.m. Monday – Friday CST and Saturday and Sunday between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. CST. You may also write to Valley County at 219 North Main St., Mailing P.O. Box 1350, Cascade, ID 83611.