Each municipality and state has some form of a police
presence. Maine is no different. The police departments hold an immense amount
of data on past crimes, current investigations, and other issues.
Target
The database was used for information sharing for federal,
state, and local law enforcement. The database breach may have jeopardized ongoing
investigations. The database, in the Maine Information and Analysis Center
(MAIC), is intended to assist with protecting against terrorism and other
significant crimes. The database mostly holds information on criminal offenses
and bulletins. The bulletins often contain identifying information, such as full name and date of birth
under an investigation. This allows regional law enforcement to share data
and collaborate to solve crimes.
Attack
The state police were notified on June 20, 2020, by Netsential
of the data breach. This may have included certain information from Maine
Information and Analysis Center (MAIC). Netsential has been contracted by the
state police since 2017. The company provides web hosting services to hundreds
of law enforcement and government agencies across the country. The attack
vector and method(s) used have not been published. This is unfortunate, as this
could be a learning experience for others.
Post-Breach
The state police contacted the FBI’s Houston Field Office to
investigate and determine the extent of the data breach. While the details are
scant, this serves as another example of why an organization needs to have an
incident response plan in place. While affected a database, it could have been
much larger and devastating.
Resources
Associated Press. (2020, June
27). Security breach impacts maine state police database. Retrieved from https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2020/06/27/security-breach-impacts-maine-state-police-database
Boston Globe. (2020, June 28).
Security breach impacts maine state police database. Retrieved from https://www.newsbreak.com/maine/augusta/news/0PSSTMTZ/security-breach-impacts-maine-state-police-database
Caledonian Record. (2020, June
28). Security breach impacts state police database. Retrieved from https://www.caledonianrecord.com/news/regional/security-breach-impacts-state-police-database/article_868571e7-55ca-5514-99da-fc012f15b021.html
Coleman, M. (2020, June 27).
Security breach impacts maine state police database. Retrieved from https://upnewsinfo.com/2020/06/27/security-breach-impacts-maine-state-police-database/
England, K. (2020, June 26). Main
state police statement on third-party data breach involving the maine information
and analysis center (MIAC). Retrieved from https://www.maine.gov/dps/msp/media-center/public-releases/maine-state-police-statement-third-party-data-breach-involving-maine
WGAN. (2020, June 29). Security breach impacts maine state
police database. Retrieved from https://wgan.com/news/074470-security-breach-impacts-maine-state-police-database/
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