Personal information may have been accessed in Williamson County data breach

Williamson County officials are warning about a "data security event" that affected the 277th District Court in November 2022.

WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — Williamson County officials are warning about a "data security event" that affected the 277th District Court in November 2022.

In a press release Thursday, officials said the county became aware of "suspicious activity in its email environment" on Nov. 10, 2022.

An investigation found that an unauthorized actor gained access to an email account of a member of the 277th District Court sometime between Nov. 1 and Nov. 10, and "may have viewed or taken certain information contained therein."

The county said it conducted a comprehensive review of the information within the email account to identify individuals whose personal information may have been accessed, including names, addresses, dates of birth, driver's license or state ID info, student IDs, Social Security numbers and passport numbers.

Other information potentially accessed included financial account and payment card information, biometric data, birth and marriage certificates, medical and health insurance information and mothers' maiden names.

County officials said they are mailing letters to potentially affected people. A toll-free assistance line has also been created for people seeking further information: 1-833-918-1104. You can call Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., excluding major holidays.

"As a precautionary measure, the County encourages potentially affected individuals to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft by reviewing their account statements and credit reports for unusual activity and to detect errors," a statement said. "Any suspicious activity should be promptly reported to their bank, financial institution, or other applicable institution."