MAINE, USA — The Maine Information and Analysis Center (MIAC), a unit of the Maine State Police, has suffered a significant data breach.
MaineBeacon.com reports that the documents from MIAC have been leaked online. They include personal information about subjects of police investigations across the state of Maine and reveal details of the center’s operational practices, which apparently include monitoring Black Lives Matter protests and activists.
Maine State Police Statement on Third-Party Data Breach Involving the Maine Information and Analysis Center (MIAC):
The MIAC was notified on June 20, 2020 of a data breach by Netsential, a company that provides third- party web hosting services to over 200 law enforcement and government agencies throughout the United States. We were told this data breach may have included information from the MIAC, consequently, we notified our partner agencies of the possible data breach with recommendations on mitigation measures, such as creating awareness for phishing attacks and changing passwords. Since then the MIAC has been working to assess the extent of the data breach with our state, local and federal partners, including the FBI Houston Field Office, which is actively investigating this incident.
Earlier today (Friday, June 26) we received confirmation that datasets submitted to the MIAC by partner organizations and are maintained by Netsential have been compromised and made public through various unlawful means. Our initial analysis revealed some of these files contain information distributed among law enforcement and government agencies. The MIAC has been utilizing the services of this vendor since 2017. We will be engaging in additional, more specific notifications to those agencies affected as we learn what the contents of those breaches are to ensure that ongoing investigations are not jeopardized.
Fusion Centers were created to enhance public safety and encourage effective, efficient, ethical, lawful, and professional intelligence and information sharing. MIAC’s mission is to prevent and reduce the harmful effects of crime and terrorism on victims, individuals, and communities while protecting people’s privacy, civil rights and civil liberties.
The most common documents shared are crime information and situational awareness bulletins that are used to assist in solving crimes, to connect regional incidents and to create situational awareness for public safety entities and private sector partners throughout the State. These bulletins often contain identifying information, such as full name and date of birth of people under investigation by other law enforcement agencies. They may also involve individuals wanted for criminal activity or individuals reported as missing. We will be engaging in additional, more specific notifications to those agencies affected as we learn what the contents of those breaches are to ensure that ongoing investigations are not jeopardized.
Fusion Centers were created to enhance public safety and encourage effective, efficient, ethical, lawful, and professional intelligence and information sharing. MIAC’s mission is to prevent and reduce the harmful effects of crime and terrorism on victims, individuals, and communities while protecting people’s privacy, civil rights and civil liberties.
This story will be updated when more information becomes available.