DES MOINES — Nearly 4,800 people have had their personal information exposed in a data breach, the Iowa Department of Human Services reports Friday.
The department said the breach, which dates back to November 25 of last year, affects information related to some Dallas County income maintenance and social work cases.
DHS leaders said the breach happened when a contractor accidentally emptied boxes containing boxes of documents to be shredded into the office’s dumpster. They said the incident wasn’t discovered until after the garbage was emptied.
Notifications have been sent as a precaution to those whose information may have been thrown out without being shredded.
Iowa DHS has frequently asked questions about the data breach.