After security flaw found, Mo. hires data breach group

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — 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 last week with Identity Theft Guard Solutions, also known as ID Experts, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

The move comes after a Post-Dispatch reporter found a flaw that potentially exposed the Social Security numbers of an estimated 100,000 Missouri teachers.

The contract does not specify whether ID Experts will focus on that flaw but it does say it would cost state taxpayers about $4.5 million to notify the teachers of the potential breach and provide them with credit monitoring services.

After the problem was first reported, Parson accused the Post-Dispatch of hacking into the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's website, which he called a crime, and called for a criminal investigation.

Missouri State Highway Patrol Capt. John Hotz said last week the investigation is ongoing.