Reminders and Tips for Members in the Wake of the Breach at National Public Data

The recent data security incident at National Public Data potentially exposed confidential information including names, email addresses, phone numbers, social security numbers and mailing addresses of billions of individuals in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.

The good news is your data continues to be secure on our systems at Hawaii Central Federal Credit Union. Your security is a top priority for us, and we are sharing this incident with you to keep you abreast of the situation. We appreciate your patience with our team as we continue to take steps to keep your data secure by asking:

• All members create strong passwords for their accounts.
• When you call us, we may ask additional security questions to verify your identity and ensure that only you can access your accounts.

Rest assured our team regularly monitors your accounts for suspicious activity and will contact you immediately in the event of possible fraud. We ask that you do to contact us for help if you suspect suspicious account activity.

Considering the breach at National Public Data, we are taking this opportunity to remind members to review security protocols they have in place. Here are a few helpful tips:

• Monitor your Credit Report and Account Statements at Financial Institutions for suspicious activity. To get a free credit report, click here.
• Freeze Accounts when suspicious activity is detected on your statements and credit report.
• Use Multifactor Authentication when it is available to add a layer of security by having a code sent to your phone upon log in.
• Update passwords periodically and use strong passwords, using a mixture of uppercase and lowercase letters, and incorporating numbers and special characters. Stay away from birthdays and names of your loved ones.
• Be cautious with email links and attachments (especially in unsolicited emails) as these may be Phishing Scams. Attachments and links could be an attempt to install malicious software on your device and harvest your data.
• Update your antivirus software and run regular security scans to ensure your devices are secure.

If you need more information on the breach at National Public Data, click here.