By Atlanta News First staff
ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — A cyberattack may have exposed personal information for tens of thousands of retired Georgia teachers who receive pension payments.
The breach, which was first reported in May, impacted thousands of organizations nationwide. But the Teachers Retirement System of Georgia recently announced that the hack included PBI Research Services, which the system uses to track who is getting benefits.
Names, addresses, and even social security numbers were likely visible to a Russian hacker group, the system said.
The breach impacted those who were paid benefits between March 1 and May 26. That’s roughly 261,000 retirees.
If you were affected by the breach, PBI will contact you through a letter in the mail, the Teachers Retirement System said. It’s also in the process of setting up a call center and web portal to help people address the problem.
To protect yourself, the system says you can:
— Contact your bank and credit card companies to inform them of the breach
— Log into your online Teachers Retirement System account and verify your information
— Add two-factor authentication to your accounts
— Review your credit report for any suspicious activity
— Place a freeze or fraud alert on your credit report
Decaturish media partner Atlanta News First provided this story.