Massachusetts
‘Don’t assume you are safe’: Data breaches spike in Massachusetts, following national trend – The Boston Globe
Micale said she quickly called up her bank and put a freeze on her account. But that put her trip to Boston with her husband, the first after over a year of long COVID, on hold.
“It was really stressful,” she said. “I had to cancel all my reservations and start over from scratch.”
Micale is far from the only Massachusetts resident to be impacted by a data breach in recent years.
A new Globe analysis of state data shows just how off-the-charts the problem has become. In 2022, 1.9 million Massachusetts resident accounts were impacted by data breaches. The following year, that number spiked to more than 6.9 million accounts, fueled in part by large-scale breaches, including one that affected more than 2 million Harvard Pilgrim Health Care accounts.
So far this year, the numbers are already above the historical average, though not quite as striking as 2023, with 1.8 million accounts breached through September.
The overall uptick is “a trend around the world,” said Stuart Madnick codirector of MIT’s flagship cybersecurity consortium. “It’s no surprise that Massachusetts is part of the uptick.”
As more data than ever, including sensitive personal banking and health care information, is stored on the internet, breaches are becoming increasingly common, he and others said. Meanwhile, hacker groups are also becoming more sophisticated, putting more people at risk of fraud and identity theft.
Across the United States, an estimated 353 million accounts fell victim to data breaches last year, according to the Identity Theft Resource Center, a national nonprofit that provides cost-free assistance to identity theft victims. The total number of breaches was 72 percent higher than the previous record year of 2021.
Data breach victims can suffer serious financial and personal repercussions after their information is compromised. For consumers, their financial information could be sold on the dark web, where scammers can purchase it and rack up debt in their name.
The burden of dealing with the consequences, such as contesting fraudulent charges, often falls on consumers.
Doing so can prove challenging even for tech-savvy people like Leigh Graham, a Johns Hopkins researcher, whose personal data has been breached at least twice in the past year, including when her employer was breached.
Graham, who lives in Northampton, said she struggled to navigate credit bureau websites to freeze her credit report after she noticed that someone spent $550 on Ticketmaster in her name.
“I’m 49, but I feel like I don’t understand what I’m looking at,” she said. “The onus is so on the individual consumer to fix everything.”
Companies impacted by data breaches may find themselves paying hefty ransom to keep their clients’ data from being published online.
That’s what happened to Change Healthcare, a subsidiary of United Health, a national conglomerate. It paid a $22 million ransom earlier this year to a hacking group that stole protected health information from their systems. The health care group acknowledged that the stolen data could include information on a “substantial proportion of people in America.” Massachusetts data indicates that tens of thousands of residents were caught up in the breach.
Screenshots of some of the hacked data ended up online, despite the ransom payment. The hack also reportedly led to problems for patients in getting prescriptions approved at hundreds of medical facilities across the country.
In Massachusetts, both national behemoths, like T-Mobile, and smaller organizations, like the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fall River, have been hit by data breaches in recent years, data shows. Even state government employees have been targeted.
At smaller organizations, experts say it’s a daunting task for IT teams with limited resources to compete with large international hacking organizations.
“A lot of [small] organizations have to face a cost-benefit tradeoff, and sometimes just have to accept a certain level of risk,” said Saroja Hanasoge, director of advisory services at CyberTrust Massachusetts, which partners with cities and organizations across the state to beef up their cybersecurity.
The largest reported hack affecting Massachusetts residents since 2017 happened last year, when Harvard Pilgrim Health Care revealed a breach that affected over 2.1 million state client accounts. Harvard Pilgrim is a subsidiary of Point32Health, the second biggest health insurance company in the state, and provides coverage at dozens of hospitals in Massachusetts alone.
In an open letter written to clients after the hack, the nonprofit said hackers may have gotten access to files containing client names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, tax identification numbers, and patient clinical information, such as medical diagnoses and treatments.
“We want to assure you that we are taking this incident extremely seriously, and we deeply regret any inconvenience this incident may cause,” the group’s letter said.
A spokesperson for Harvard Pilgrim declined to speak about the breach.
Bad actors are becoming more sophisticated
Experts say it’s now far easier for bad actors to go online and buy hacking services at low cost, often using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.
For-hire hacking groups do a lot of the technical work that everyday thieves would ordinarily not have the know-how to pull off, said Kevin Powers, director of the cybersecurity program at Boston College. Some of the hacking groups even offer affordable subscriptions.
For as little as $40 a month “you can get yourself a monthly subscription for a criminal enterprise,” Powers said.
He added that schemers also now use artificial intelligence services available on the dark web that are built to make hacking easy. Many hacking groups have begun using the AI services to make highly personalized phishing emails that are much harder to spot as fraudulent.
Even in cases where federal investigators manage to shut down a big hacking network, they will often reappear online, sometimes from a different country.
Hackers also have the benefit of bigger and easier targets to crack in recent years, as a growing number of companies are putting troves of data on poorly set up cloud servers with minimal protections.
“The bad guys are getting badder faster than the good guys are getting better,” Madnick of MIT said.
Some of those bad guys have even managed to break into Madnick’s accounts multiple times.
“You can be the most careful person in the world and there is no way to guarantee they won’t break in,” he said. “Don’t assume you are safe.”
Scooty Nickerson can be reached at scooty.nickerson@globe.com.
The long-awaited hydropower line delivering electricity from Québec to New England is expected to be running in January after years of hurdles and delays, the company Hydro Québec stated.
“We have been actively testing the line and the transformers for the past several weeks and are making good progress,” a spokesperson for Hydro Québec said, adding the teams were actively working on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border and “expect to be ready begin energy deliveries in January.”
The New England Clean Energy Connect (NECEC) transmission line, initiated nearly in 2017 under the Baker administration and under construction since 2021, is set to deliver 1,200 megawatts of hydropower from Québec to New England over 20 years, becoming one of the largest sources of baseload power in the region.
Avangrid, the company behind the NECEC, announced in November it had secured the final permit to get the power line running after years of regulatory and legal hurdles. The company estimated the line would be running by the end of 2025 at the time.
The project to bring Canadian hydropower to the New England power grid, estimated to cost about $1 billion, is expected to provide Massachusetts with approximately 20% of it overall electricity.
The clean energy line will deliver about $3 billion in net benefits to Massachusetts residents paying for electricity, including “reducing in ratepayer bills by around $50 million each year,” state officials said.
“This transmission line will deliver affordable, stable power from our partners in Canada to our residents and businesses,” Gov. Maura Healey said in November. “More energy means lower costs. The NECEC line is a key part of our all-of-the-above approach to lowering energy costs and delivering the power our economy needs.”
On average, officials estimated, residents can expect to save $18 to $20 a year over the contract term.
Avangrid said the project will cut carbon emissions by 3.6 million metric tons a year, “the equivalent of removing 700,000 cars from the road.” The hydropower source is expected to be “key to energy reliability in the winter” as demand grows, state officials said, and evening energy prices effected by the volatility of natural gas.
The line cleared a closing legal hurdle in January 2025 when the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities agreed to a settlement with electric utility companies, the AG’s office, energy department and Central Maine Power approving project costs.
The clean energy project updates come weeks after the Trump administration dealt a blow to wind power projects across the U.S., including the Vineyard Wind farm off the coast of Nantucket delivering energy in New England.
Massachusetts
NESN’S Tom Caron, Dave O’Brien Named 2025 NSMA Massachusetts Co-Sportscasters Of The Year
New England Sports Network (NESN) on Monday announced that Boston Red Sox broadcast leaders Tom Caron and Dave O’Brien have been named 2025 Massachusetts Co-Sportscasters of the Year by the National Sports Media Association (NSMA).
Caron and O’Brien serve as the cornerstone voices of NESN’s Red Sox coverage, leading the network’s studio and game productions, respectively. Together, they anchor NESN’s comprehensive Red Sox broadcasts, delivering in-depth analysis, trusted storytelling and championship-caliber coverage to fans across New England.
“Tom and Dave represent the gold standard of sports broadcasting,” said David Wisnia, President & CEO of NESN. “Their credibility, storytelling, and deep connection to Red Sox fans elevate every broadcast. This recognition by NSMA is a well-deserved honor and a reflection of their impact on New England sports media.”
This recognition continues NESN’s tradition of broadcast excellence, following Jack Edwards’ selection as the 2024 NSMA Massachusetts Sportscaster of the Year for his work as the play-by-play voice of the Boston Bruins.
Tom Caron joined NESN in 1995, recently celebrating 30 years with the network. For the past 24 seasons, he has been a central figure in NESN’s Red Sox coverage, serving as the network’s first baseball sideline reporter before becoming host of the Red Sox pregame and postgame shows during the club’s historic 2004 championship season. In addition to leading NESN’s Red Sox studio programming and hosting the “310 To Left” VODcast, Caron has served as studio host for Boston Bruins hockey and as play-by-play announcer for premier New England college hockey events, including the Beanpot Tournament and Hockey East Championship. A nine-time New England Emmy Award winner, Caron was inducted into the Maine Sports Hall of Fame in 2021 and is deeply involved in numerous charitable organizations throughout the region, including serving as Co-Chair of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Jimmy Fund.
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Dave O’Brien has served as NESN’s primary play-by-play voice of the Red Sox since 2016, following nine years with the Red Sox Radio Network. In addition to leading NESN’s game broadcasts, O’Brien is also the lead play-by-play announcer for college football and basketball on ESPN’s ACC Network. His career includes Major League Baseball postseason broadcasts, international World Series coverage, and play-by-play roles with the Florida Marlins, New York Mets, and Atlanta Braves. A Boston native, O’Brien is a recipient of multiple national and regional broadcasting honors and is widely respected as one of the sport’s premier voices.
The National Sports Media Association annually recognizes excellence in sports media across the country, honoring broadcasters who demonstrate outstanding professionalism, longevity, and impact in their markets.
About NESN
NESN is consistently one of the top-rated regional sports networks in the country with award-winning Red Sox and Bruins coverage, and recently named RSN of the Year by Cynopsis. NESN and NESN+ are delivered throughout the six-state New England region and are available anytime, anywhere, on any device on the NESN 360 app via direct subscription or TV authentication. The network is also distributed nationally as NESN National. NESN’s free ad-supported streaming (FAST) channel, NESN NATION, offers 35+ hours of weekly live and original programming, including exclusive sports content, interviews, and behind-the-scenes features, available on Samsung TV Plus, Prime Video, Roku, LG, Twitch, Plex, and TCLtv+. NESN.com is one of the country’s most visited sports websites with dedicated digital video production and always-on news coverage. NESN’s social responsibility program, NESN Connects, is proud to support and connect its employees with charitable organizations in the Greater Boston community. NESN also manages SportsNet Pittsburgh, home of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Pittsburgh Pirates for all regionally televised games in and around Pittsburgh, as well as other local sports content. NESN is owned by Fenway Sports Group (owners of the Boston Red Sox) and Delaware North (owners of the Boston Bruins).
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All of Massachusetts is predicted to see some snowfall in the latter half of the day on Monday, with most of the state getting 1 to 2 inches of accumulation, according to the National Weather Service.
Temperatures are expected to dip into the teens overnight on Sunday before rising into the mid to high 20s on Monday, the weather service said. Clouds are predicted to increase throughout the day before the snow begins in the afternoon.
Berkshire County could see some light snow Sunday night and Monday morning, but heavier precipitation is expected to begin by 1 p.m. Monday, according to the weather service. Most of the rest of the state is predicted to start seeing snow between 3 and 6 p.m., first in western Massachusetts, then spreading across the state.
The snowfall is expected to stop between 10 p.m. Monday and 1 a.m. Tuesday in most of Massachusetts, according to the weather service. Much of the state may also experience patchy fog Monday night.
The northwestern half of Worcester County and most of Berkshire County is expected to get the most snow — up to 3 inches, according to the weather service. The Cape, Islands and South Coast are predicted to get less than an inch, and the rest of the state is expected to get 1 to 2 inches.
Overnight lows on Monday are predicted to drop into the low to mid 20s, according to the weather service. Temperatures on Tuesday are expected to be warmer, reaching the mid 30s to low 40s.
There is a chance of rain in most of Massachusetts Tuesday afternoon, with precipitation more likely after 4 p.m., according to the weather service. Tuesday night is predicted to be rainy across the state, though the precipitation may come down as freezing rain or snow at higher elevations.
Temperatures overnight on Tuesday are expected to dip into the high 20s and low 30s before rising into the mid 40s on Wednesday, according to the weather service. Communities in the central and western parts of the state are predicted to see the rain cease by 10 a.m., while Eastern Massachusetts can expect to experience rain until midday.
Sunny skies are predicted across the state following the rain on Wednesday, according to the weather service.
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