After Security Flaw Found, Missouri Hires Data Breach Group

(AP) – Two weeks after a newspaper discovered a security flaw on a state website, Gov. Mike Parson’s administration has hired a company that performs data breach and credit monitoring services.

The state signed a contract with Identity Theft Guard Solutions last week. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch discovered a flaw that potentially exposed the Social Security numbers of an estimated 100,000 Missouri teachers.

The contract signed last week does not specify whether the company will focus on that issue. But the pricing sheet shows it would cost taxpayers about $4.5 million to notify the teachers of the potential breach and provide them with credit monitoring.