Illinois Health Department Exposed Over 700,000 Residents’ Personal Data for Years

Illinois Health Department Exposed Over 700,000 Residents’ Personal Data for Years

Illinois Health Data Breach Exposes 700K Residents – What Went Wrong? In a massive data security failure, the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) has admitted that a misconfigured internal website exposed the personal information of over 700,000 state residents for nearly five years. The breach, which went undetected from April 2021 until September 2025, included sensitive details like home addresses, case numbers, and demographic data. While names weren’t included for most affected individuals, tens of thousands did have their full names and service statuses compromised. If you’re an Illinois resident who receives Medicaid or state rehabilitation services, this breach could impact you. Credit: Dave Whitney / Getty Images How the Breach Happened – And Why It Took So Long to Find The problem stemmed from an internal mapping tool used by IDHS staff to allocate resources and track service needs across the state. Designed for internal use only, the tool was accidentally left accessib…