On June 27, 2023, and again on July 20, 2023, the Teachers’ Retirement System of the City of New York posted notice of a PBI data security incident on its website. In this notice, TRS explains that the incident resulted in an unauthorized party being able to access consumers’ sensitive information, which includes their names, Social Security numbers and dates of birth. Upon completing its investigation, TRS began sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals whose information was affected by the recent data security incident.

If you received a data breach notification from the Teachers’ Retirement System of the City of New York, it is essential you understand what is at risk and what you can do about it. While the relationship between the various organizations involved is confusing, the result is that an unauthorized party was able to access confidential information belonging to New York City teachers. A data breach lawyer can help you learn more about how to protect yourself from becoming a victim of fraud or identity theft as well as discuss your legal options following the TRS of New York data breach. For more information, please see our recent piece on the topic here.

What Caused the Data Breach Affecting TRS of New York?

The TRS of New York data breach was only recently announced, and more information is expected in the near future. However, TRS’s recent post provides some important information on what led up to the breach. According to this source, TRS was recently informed by PBI Research Services, one of TRS’s vendors, of a data security incident involving the secure file transfer software MOVEit.

Evidently, back on May 31, 2023, the creator of MOVEit announced a previously unknown vulnerability that allowed unauthorized parties to access certain organizations’ MOVEit servers, including PBI’s.

After learning that sensitive consumer data was accessible to an unauthorized party, TRS of New York reviewed the compromised files to determine what information was leaked and which consumers were impacted. While the breached information varies depending on the individual, it may include your name, Social Security number and date of birth.

On July 20, 2023, TRS of New York posted another notice indicating that it recently sent out data breach letters to those who were affected by the recent data security incident. These letters should provide victims with a list of which information of theirs was compromised.

More Information About Teachers’ Retirement System of the City of New York

Teachers’ Retirement System of the City of New York provides eligible New York City educators with retirement, disability, and death benefits. TRS also oversees benefits for the City University of New York (CUNY) and participating New York City Charter Schools. Some of the benefits provided by TRS include retirement accounts, low-interest loans, disability retirement benefits, and death benefits. TRS of New York employs more than 315 people and generates approximately $247 million in annual revenue.