Chester County Probation/Parole and Pretrial Services

On January 16, 2025, Chester County Probation/Parole and Pretrial Services disclosed a data breach stemming from an inadvertent exposure of sensitive personal information. The incident, identified on January 7, 2025, was caused by employees externally emailing data without proper safeguards. The breach compromised the records of 8,281 individuals, including highly sensitive details such as names and Social Security numbers (SSNs). The exposed data poses significant risks, including identity theft, financial fraud, and long-term reputational harm to affected individuals. Given the nature of the compromised information government-issued identifiers tied to legal and probationary services the breach also raises concerns about potential misuse for targeted scams or exploitation of vulnerable populations. The organization has not yet confirmed whether the exposed data was accessed by unauthorized third parties, but the sheer volume and sensitivity of the leaked records amplify the severity of the incident. Mitigation efforts, including notifications to affected parties and regulatory bodies, are likely underway, though the long-term consequences for trust in the agency’s data-handling practices remain uncertain.

Source: https://www.maine.gov/agviewer/content/ag/985235c7-cb95-4be2-8792-a1252b4f8318/7cef7866-4209-4296-b969-3f82838b63b7.html

TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/chescopa

"id": "che547091725",
"linkid": "chescopa",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "12/2024",
"severity": "85",
"impact": "4",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with customers data leaks"

{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': 8281,
                        'industry': 'Public Administration / Criminal Justice',
                        'location': 'Chester County, Pennsylvania, USA',
                        'name': 'Chester County Probation/Parole and Pretrial '
                                'Services',
                        'type': 'Government Agency'}],
 'attack_vector': 'Human Error (External Emailing)',
 'data_breach': {'data_exfiltration': 'Yes (via external email)',
                 'number_of_records_exposed': 8281,
                 'personally_identifiable_information': ['Names',
                                                         'Social Security '
                                                         'Numbers'],
                 'sensitivity_of_data': 'High (includes SSNs)',
                 'type_of_data_compromised': ['Personally Identifiable '
                                              'Information (PII)']},
 'date_detected': '2025-01-07',
 'date_publicly_disclosed': '2025-01-16',
 'description': 'The Chester County Probation/Parole and Pretrial Services '
                'reported a data breach involving inadvertent disclosure of '
                'personal information due to external emailing by employees. '
                'The breach affected 8,281 individuals, including sensitive '
                'information such as names and Social Security numbers.',
 'impact': {'brand_reputation_impact': 'Potential (due to exposure of '
                                       'sensitive PII)',
            'data_compromised': ['Names', 'Social Security Numbers'],
            'identity_theft_risk': 'High (SSNs exposed)'},
 'post_incident_analysis': {'root_causes': 'Human error (inadvertent external '
                                           'emailing of sensitive data)'},
 'references': [{'date_accessed': '2025-01-16',
                 'source': 'Chester County Probation/Parole and Pretrial '
                           'Services Public Disclosure'}],
 'response': {'communication_strategy': 'Public disclosure on 2025-01-16'},
 'title': 'Chester County Probation/Parole and Pretrial Services Data Breach '
          '(January 2025)',
 'type': 'Data Breach (Inadvertent Disclosure)'}