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 than6.9 million accounts, fueled in part by large-scale breaches, including one that affected more than 2 million Harvard Pilgrim Health Care accounts.
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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.
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Stuart Madnick, professor at MIT, held one of the letters he received regarding data breaches. Suzanne Kreiter/Globe Staff
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.”
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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.
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“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 asmedical 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.
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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.
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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.”
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Scooty Nickerson can be reached at scooty.nickerson@globe.com.
A coffee shop in Middleborough, Massachusetts, went viral overnight for offering free coffee to customers who entered the shop while dancing.
Avideo of customers participating in the promotion was posted on Coffee Milano Café’s TikTok account on Monday and has since been viewed over 5 million times as of Wednesday afternoon.
The viral post highlights how businesses are finding new customers by amping up their online presence, moving away from traditional marketing methods that are not delivering the same reach anymore.
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Owner Josh Rashid told CNN that business picked up after the video was posted, attracting curious new customers while delighting cafe regulars.
“We’re a small little town here in Middleborough, and it’s fun. A couple of people were in the store when it happened, and they came in the next day and said, ‘Oh my gosh, I saw your video on my For You page,’” he said.
Inspired by a similar promotion by a pizza shop, Rashid posted a sign telling customers they would receive a free coffee if they danced for five seconds. The sign also informed them that they would be filmed and featured on the cafe’s social media.
Rashid told CNN that the cafe’s TikTok account gained over 10,000 followers since the video was posted, up from roughly 4,000 followers.
“Small businesses really need to be on these platforms where potential customers are searching,” said Kristyn Shay, social media director at SCORE, a nonprofit offering resources for small business owners. “It’s really an exciting time for small businesses to go viral on platforms like TikTok and be where younger potential customers are hanging out.”
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Rashid told CNN that the staff had only started creating short, playful videos using trending TikTok sounds four weeks ago when he decided to shake up their marketing strategy.
“We’re in a digital world and word of mouth is great, but at the same time, we’re glued to our phones,” he said. “It just shows us how powerful social media is, and as a business owner, we have to adapt and do what we can.”
Rashid said that the reaction to the cafe’s promotion was so positive that he plans to bring back the deal every month. But it comes with a catch.
He said he would not post an announcement or schedule an official date. Instead, he plans on leaving “Easter eggs” across the cafe’s social media for customers to find hints to future promotions.
“When you have a viral moment, it’s an indicator that you’re doing something right,” Shay said. “Maybe you tested a new strategy. Maybe that strategy was to be a little bit more silly and the audience responded to that.”
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And to those who worry about the cafe losing out on profits, Rashid says it’s not a problem.
“You’ve got to have some joy in this world, and if a little five second dance brings you joy, then it’s worth the free coffee.”
Residents in Holbrook and Randolph report muddy, discolored water
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Residents in Holbrook and Randolph report muddy, discolored water
02:13
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HOLBROOK – Residents in two Massachusetts communities are dealing with discolored water coming out of their pipes and they said it’s the latest issue in a years’ long process to get clean water.
Thick, muddy water
When John Davis woke up Tuesday morning in Holbrook, he found thick, muddy water flowing out of his tap. After a quick check of social media, it didn’t take long to figure out most of his neighbors were dealing with the same thing.
“It was, just, black mud water came out of the tap,” said Davis. “I had a couple of friends that did their laundry. Ruined their laundry, they’ve been bleaching in the sink.”
Davis has lived in Holbrook his entire life and said Tuesday’s dirty water debacle was just the latest in a years’ long effort to get clean drinking water. Each week for the last two years, Davis has been filling jugs up with clean spring water because the stuff coming out of his tap contains high levels of PFAS or “forever chemicals.” Davis said the town has advised residents not to cook with or drink their tap water.
New treatment plant
The town is working to fix the issue by developing a so-called Tri-Town Water Treatment Plant out of Braintree. The town of Holbrook said Tuesday’s muddy water is the result of Monday night work on the project.
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In a statement, the Holbrook Public Works Department said:
“The Water Department is actively working to address the issue and appreciates your understanding during this time. Additionally, significant work was completed on Monday night on a major water transmission line that supplies the Holbrook’s Water Distribution System from the Randolph/Holbrook joint Water Treatment Plant. This work included the installation of two large junctions that will soon connect to new transmission lines from the Tri-Town Water Treatment Plant under construction in Braintree.”
The statement went on to say the new plant should be completed by January of 2026. They added if anyone’s water was still discolored Wednesday night, to flush their system by letting their bathtub or shower run.
The neighboring town of Randolph also reported discolored water as a result of the construction.
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Brandon Truitt
Brandon Truitt is a general assignment reporter for WBZ-TV.
Fire in Blue Hills Reservation in Milton, Massachusetts
Dedham Firefighters Local 1735 crews battle the Blue Hills fire in Milton on Monday, Nov. 18. On Tuesday, the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) closed parts of the reservation to allow fire crews to work.
Dedham Firefighters Local 1735 via Storyful
The brush fires continue to burn in Massachusetts.
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A major brush fire erupted at Blue Hills Reservation on Monday night, and crews continued to battle the blaze Tuesday.
In Braintree, a brush fire was reported in the woods near Skyline Drive on Monday.
“Fire will continue to smolder deep underground until we have a soaking rain,” states the Braintree Fire Department’s Instagram page.
On top of the major brush fires this week, the alerts for fires kept coming in consistently from Nov. 19-20. Using Dataminr, there were 10 notifications reported in Massachusetts by noon on Nov. 20 and 14 fires reported on Nov. 19.
See map of where fires are burning in MA
The National Weather Service is continuing to warn residents that the state is at high risk for fires, issuing a special advisory on Wednesday.
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“The combination of prolonged dry weather and low relative humidities will contribute to elevated fire weather concerns Wednesday across Massachusetts. Obey fire bans, keep vehicles off dry grass and use extra caution if handling any potential ignition sources,” the agency said.
Brush fires/fire alerts today, Nov. 20
These alerts come from Dataminr.
Brush fire burns on 0 block of Mulberry St. in Groveland
Fire reported on 10 block of Overland St. Southbridge
Butternut Fire burns at 1,100 acres on East Mountain Rd. in Great Barrington
Fire reported on Great Neck Rd. South, Mashpee
Fire reported on 110 block of Townsend St. Worcester
Fire reported on Western Ave. Lynn
Fire reported on 200 block of Walnut Plain Rd. Rochester
Fire reported on 70 block of Wales St. Taunton
Brush fire prompts emergency response near Donald E Ross Elementary School on 20 block of Hayward St. in Braintree
Fire reported on Oakmont St. Webster
Brush fires/fires alerts on Nov. 19
Fire reported on 900 block of South St. Southbridge
Fire reported at intersection of Essex Street and Hampshire St. Lawrence
Fire reported on Methuen St. Lowell
Fire reported on 0 block of Shrewsbury St. Worcester
Fire reported on Azalea Rd. Winchester
Fire reported on Sycamore St. Westfield
Fire reported on 0 block of Wakefield Ave. Saugus
Fire reported on Rockland St. Abington
Fire reported on 300 block of Cherry St. Newton
Fire reported on 20 block of Virginia St. Dorchester
Fire reported on 200 block of Rockland St. Hanover
Three-alarm brush fire burns on 230 block of Topsfield Rd. in Wenham
Fire reported on 10 block of Colonial Ave. Lowell
Brush fire burns at Cedar Glen Golf Course on 60 block of Water St. in Saugus
Is this a bad season for brush fires in Massachusetts?
Yes.
The Carver Fire Department reported on Facebook that the average number of November brush fires in Massachusetts is 21.
“So far for November 2024 we are at 292 with over 700 acres burned” for the state, the department noted.
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State fire officials report that there were 175 wildfires that continued to be an issue across Massachusetts earlier this month on Nov. 9.
Mass.gov stated that there were 203 brush fires in Massachusetts during the month of October, which is an increase of about 1,200% over the average. Typically, there are only about 15 brush fires in October.
How bad is the drought in Massachusetts?
As of this week, the U.S. Drought Monitor recently showed that dry conditions in Massachusetts keep getting worse.
That’s because the state really hasn’t seen any significant rain since September, with precipitation totals in October being low.
The Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs declared a Level 3 – Critical Drought for the central and northeast regions parts of Massachusetts late last week.
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The U.S. Drought Monitor currently classifies just over 66% of the state as being in a severe drought covering most of the Boston area, North shore, Central Massachusetts and Western Massachusetts. Other parts of the state are considered to be in a moderate drought, while the Cape and Islands are currently classified as abnormally dry.
Is there any rain on the way? If so, will it help?
The National Weather Service stated that a “slow-moving frontal system” will bring overcast skies and rain Thursday into Friday, “which could mix with wet snow at locations above 1,500 feet elevation.”
Meteorologist Candice Hrencecin of the National Weather Service branch in Norton told USA Today Network on Tuesday, Nov. 19, that “about an inch of rain” can be expected this Thursday into Friday.
But after Thursday, the weather is supposed to dry up again, she added.
Regarding whether the forecasted rain would stop the drought, Hrencecin said, “Definitely not,” but she added it would help quench any ongoing brush fires.
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