New England FCU Faced With New Data Breach

WATERBURY, Vt. – State officials reported yesterday that a database containing Social Security numbers and account information for 70,000 people–most of them members of New England FCU–was hacked, exposing the individuals to potential fraud on their credit cards or accounts. The state’s largest credit union provided information for 58,800 of its members to Vermont’s Department of Human Services for the purpose of helping collect child support debt. The breach comes a few weeks after national retailer TX Maxx disclosed that its database had been hacked into and exposed hundreds of thousands of cards accounts at dozens of credit unions and banks to potential fraud. It also the thrid time in a month that Vermont officials have conceded a breach in their data security at a state agency. Officials of the $500 million Williston-based credit union said they will do everything they can to protect the affected accounts.