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Current and former Chemeketa Community College employees may have exposed Social Security numbers and other sensitive information in a breach involving a vendor that manages the retirement plans for tens of thousands of Oregon educators.
The college's announcement came after the Salem-Keizer school district said Wednesday that its employees also disclosed confidential information from the same vendor.
Carruth Compliance Consulting, based in Tigard, announced Monday that between Dec. 19 and Dec. 26, 2024, sensitive data on the company's network was unauthorizedly accessed and “certain files were copied from our systems.” The company learned of the breach on December 21st.
Chemeketa President Jessica Howard notified employees via email Thursday afternoon. Other school districts in Oregon, including Portland, Hillsboro and Beaverton, were also affected.
According to Howard's email, the breach may have exposed information about everyone who worked for the college since 2008, regardless of whether Carruth managed his retirement savings. Information disclosed may include names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, Chemeketa email addresses, physical address, and contribution amounts to 403(b) and 457(b) retirement savings accounts.
She said the college will no longer hire Carruth to handle pension contributions for the foreseeable future.
Affected employees can receive free credit monitoring through the breach response service IDX, Carruth said, by calling (877) 720-7895. The company said it also reported the breach to the FBI.
Contact reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
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Rachel Alexander is managing editor of Salem Reporter. She joined Salem Reporter when it launched in 2018 and covers city news, education, nonprofits and a little bit of everything else. She has been a journalist in Oregon and Washington for a decade. Outside of work, she is a skater and board member for Salem's Cherry City Roller Derby, and often has her nose buried in a book.