Read to a Child Data Breach

What Happened?

On March 12, 2024, Read to a Child, Inc. (RTAC), a non-profit organization dedicated to mentoring and literacy, became aware of a data security breach. The unauthorized access to their systems was identified and confirmed to have ended on March 21, 2024. During this breach, sensitive personal information was compromised, which potentially affects employees and volunteers associated with the organization.

The data accessed included names, mailing addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and financial account numbers. RTAC has taken immediate action to address the breach by working with the vendor responsible for the impacted system to understand the nature and scope of the intrusion. Additional technical and organizational controls were implemented by March 15, 2024, to bolster security and prevent future incidents.

On March 27, 2024, RTAC filed a police report with the Wellesley Police Department as part of their response protocol. They have also directed their employees to enhance security measures, such as enabling Multi-Factor Authentication and creating secure access pathways to vendor systems.

If you believe your information may have been affected by this breach, it is crucial to remain vigilant by reviewing your account statements and monitoring your credit reports. RTAC is offering two years of complimentary 1-bureau credit monitoring through Experian to support those impacted. To sign up for this service, please follow the provided instructions and use the activation code by June 28, 2024.

Furthermore, it is advisable to consider placing a security freeze on your credit report, which can help prevent unauthorized credit activities. You may also want to place a fraud alert with the major credit bureaus, which alerts creditors to take extra steps to verify your identity before granting credit. For detailed instructions on how to implement these measures, please refer to the full notice from RTAC.

For additional information and assistance, you can reach out to RTAC's office at 1-781-489-5910 or via email at beth.putnam@readtoachild.org. You can also find more details and support on the Massachusetts Attorney General's website.

RTAC values the privacy and security of its employees and volunteers and expresses its sincere regret for any inconvenience or concern caused by this incident. They are committed to maintaining transparency throughout this process and providing the necessary resources to assist those affected.