Substitute Notice of Data Breach

Substitute Notice of Data Incident

What happened?

On the evening of November 12, 2020, Belden IT professionals detected unusual activity involving certain company servers. We immediately triggered our cybersecurity incident response plan, deployed teams of internal IT specialists, and engaged leading third-party cybersecurity forensic experts and other advisors to identify the scope of the incident and move quickly to mitigate the impact. Forensics experts determined that we were the target of a sophisticated attack by a party outside the company.  On or about November 15, 2020, we learned that the outside party accessed servers that contained personal information of some current and former employees.  We subsequently learned that our servers also contained some health-related information of some current and former employees, as well as some personal and health-related information of some spouses, dependents, and relatives of some current and former employees.

 

What information was involved?

For affected individuals, the personal and health-related information involved in this incident may have included names, birthdates, government-issued identification numbers (for example, social security number), bank account information (for North American employees on Belden payroll), home addresses, email addresses, other general employment-related information (for Belden employees), gender, and benefits information, such as UMI (member) number, group number, coverage category, primary source of coverage, the effective date of that coverage, any additional sources of coverage, the effective date of additional coverages, their relationship to a Belden employee, and other benefits information. For individuals involved in a workers’ compensation claim associated with Belden, the personal and health-related information may have also included some information about their injury. For Belden personnel in insurance claims dispute discussions, the information about them may have included diagnosis and treatment information related to the claim.  Otherwise, Belden personnel do not have access to individuals’ diagnosis and treatment information.

 

What we are doing?

While our investigation continues, we believe that we have stopped further unauthorized access of personal data on our servers. We are also working with regulatory and law enforcement officials, including the F.B.I. and Department of Homeland Security, to investigate the matter and have engaged legal counsel to help us notify appropriate regulatory authorities.  In addition, we are continuously monitoring for any suspicious activity on our systems and have deployed additional resources to reinforce the security of our systems.

To help relieve concerns and attempt to mitigate the consequences of this incident on affected individuals, where available and legally permissible we are offering a complimentary twenty-four month membership of Experian IdentityWorks^SM Credit 3B to individuals whose data was potentially impacted by this incident. If you are interested in obtaining this service, please contact us using the methods provided below and, if we are able to verify that you were a potentially affected individual, we will provide instructions on how to enroll in the Experian IdentityWorks^SM Credit 3B product. This product helps detect possible misuse of your personal information and provides you with identity protection services focused on immediate identification and resolution of identity theft.

 

What you can do?

If you think that you may have been impacted by this incident, you may contact us at 1-833-971-3268, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Central Time or at protect@belden.com.  Please also review the enclosed “Additional Resources” section below. This section describes additional steps you can take to help protect yourself, including recommendations by the Federal Trade Commission regarding identity theft protection and details on how to place a fraud alert or a security freeze on your credit file.

Protecting your information is important to us. We trust that the services we are offering to you demonstrate our continued commitment to your security and satisfaction.

 

Additional Resources

Contact information for the three nationwide credit reporting agencies:

Equifax, PO Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374, www.equifax.com, 1-800-685-1111

Experian, PO Box 2104, Allen, TX 75013, www.experian.com, 1-888-397-3742

TransUnion, PO Box 2000, Chester, PA 119016, www.transunion.com, 1-800-888-4213

 

 

Free Credit Report. It is recommended that you remain vigilant by reviewing account statements and monitoring your credit report for unauthorized activity, especially activity that may indicate fraud and identity theft. You may obtain a copy of your credit report, free of charge, once every 12 months from each of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies.

To order your annual free credit report please visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call toll free at 1-877-322-8228.

You can also order your annual free credit report by mailing a completed Annual Credit Report Request Form (available from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) website at www.consumer.ftc.gov) to:

Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281.

 

For Colorado, Georgia, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and Vermont residents: You may obtain one or more (depending on the state) additional copies of your credit report, free of charge. You must contact each of the credit reporting agencies directly to obtain such additional report(s).

 

Fraud Alerts. There are two types of fraud alerts you can place on your credit report to put your creditors on notice that you may be a victim of fraud—an initial alert and an extended alert. You may ask that an initial fraud alert be placed on your credit report if you suspect you have been, or are about to be, a victim of identity theft. An initial fraud alert stays on your credit report for at least one year. You may have an extended alert placed on your credit report if you have already been a victim of identity theft and you have the appropriate documentary proof. An extended fraud alert stays on your credit report for seven years. You can place a fraud alert on your credit report by contacting any of the three national credit reporting agencies.

 

Security Freeze. You have the ability to place a security freeze, also known as a credit freeze, on your credit report free of charge.

A security freeze is intended to prevent credit, loans and services from being approved in your name without your consent. To place a security freeze on your credit report, you may use an online process, an automated telephone line, or submit a written request to any of the three credit reporting agencies listed above. The following information must be included when requesting a security freeze (note that, if you are requesting a credit report for your spouse, this information must be provided for him/her as well): (1) full name, with middle initial and any suffixes; (2) Social Security number; (3) date of birth; (4) current address and any previous addresses for the past 5 years; and (5) any applicable incident report or complaint with a law enforcement agency or the Registry of Motor Vehicles. The request must also include a copy of a government-issued identification card and a copy of a recent utility bill or bank or insurance statement. It is essential that each copy be legible, and display your name, current mailing address, and the date of issue.

 

Federal Trade Commission and State Attorneys General Offices. If you believe you are the victim of identity theft or have reason to believe your personal information has been misused, you should immediately contact the Federal Trade Commission and/or the Attorney General’s office in your home state. You may also contact these agencies for information on how to prevent or minimize the risks of identity theft.

You may contact the Federal Trade Commission, Consumer Response Center, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580, www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/, 1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338).

 

For District of Columbia residents: The Attorney General may be contacted at: Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia,  400 6th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001, Phone: (202) 727-3400, Email: oag@dc.gov.

 

For Maryland residents: You may contact the Maryland Office of the Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division, 200 St. Paul Place, Baltimore, MD 21202, www.oag.state.md.us, 1-888-743-0023.

 

For North Carolina residents: You may contact the North Carolina Office of the Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division, 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001, www.ncdoj.gov, 1-877-566-7226.

 

For New York residents: The Attorney General may be contacted at: Office of the Attorney General, The Capitol, Albany, NY 12224-0341; 1-800-771-7755; https://ag.ny.gov/.

 

For Connecticut residents: You may contact the Connecticut Office of the Attorney General, 165 Capitol Avenue, Hartford, CT 06106, 1-860-808-5318, www.ct.gov/ag.

 

For Massachusetts residents: You may contact the Office of the Massachusetts Attorney General, 1 Ashburton Place, Boston, MA 02108, 1-617-727-8400, www.mass.gov/ago/contact-us.html

 

For Rhode Island residents: You may contact the Office of the Attorney General at 1-401-274-4400, http://www.riag.ri.gov/home/ContactUs.php

 

Reporting of identity theft and obtaining a police report.

 

For Iowa residents: You are advised to report any suspected identity theft to law enforcement or to the Iowa Attorney General.

 

For Massachusetts residents: You have the right to obtain a police report if you are a victim of identity theft.

 

For Oregon residents: You are advised to report any suspected identity theft to law enforcement, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Oregon Attorney General.

 

For Rhode Island residents: You have the right to file or obtain a police report if you are a victim of identify theft.