Omaha recycler’s backlog of driver’s license numbers subject of data dump

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Dumping off an old couch at River City Recycling, Anthony paid a lot less because he lives in Omaha -- but proving it has cost him a lot of worry.

“Apparently they retained my driver’s license number and kept it on a list, and according to the letter, they got hacked,” he said.

The data breach warning raises fear of identity theft, so we’re not using his last name -- but cybercrooks may know it, and a lot more.

“I’m just upset they collected and kept that information,” he said.

Since 2018, River City Recycling has kept driver’s license information on Omahans who took advantage of a city-subsidized bulky-item disposal program.

“Obviously you need to verify information if somebody comes back in,” said Omaha’s quality control manager, James Kee. “Having a record of that electronically makes it a little bit easier. We’ve never gone into them or needed to keep multiple years of data. That might’ve been something to prevent the impact.”

The president of River City Recycling tells 6 On Your Side over two weeks early this year, an unauthorized actor gained access to its electronic network files containing driver’s license information for 4,282 Omaha residents.

City officials realize you can’t just trash collection of license numbers to verify only Omahans are taking advantage of the program -- but they suggest instead of storing that information on a computer -- just go back to an old-fashioned file cabinet.

Because the city pays $50,000 a year, Omaha residents have a cheaper price of $15 for two pickup loads or four car loads of junk, with River City Recycling keeping track of Omahans dumping.

“What will change is how they’re storing the information when the resident comes to participate in the cost-share program,” Kee said. “They shouldn’t be storing any driver’s license information electronically.”

While a driver’s license still needs to be presented, the president of River City Recycling tells 6 On Your Side none will be stored. Files that had contained driver’s license information related to the program have been deleted.

“I’d like to see them change their policy to only check a box that we validate you are a resident of Omaha and don’t retain that information,” Anthony said.

He says Omahans using the taxpayer-subsidized program need to feel confident that their personal information is protected from a cybercrime data dump.

Scott Hughbanks, president of RCR, tells 6 On Your Side that almost 4,300 Omahans with identities at risk have been offered one year of free credit monitoring through IDX, a national data breach response service. A call center is also available to answer questions.

Read River City Recycling’s full statement

Mike,

River City Recycling recently addressed an incident involving unauthorized access to its network. Upon discovering this activity, River City Recycling secured its network, commenced an investigation with the assistance of a cybersecurity firm, and took measures to address the incident. The investigation determined that an unauthorized actor gained access to the River City Recycling network between January 25, 2023 and February 6, 2023, and during that time, removed copies of certain files. River City Recycling completed a comprehensive review of the information contained in those files, and on March 14, 2023, determined that certain files contained the driver’s license information of 4,282 Omaha residents who participated in the Bulky Item Disposal program since 2018.

The City of Omaha bulky material disposal program is offered to all residents within the city limits of Omaha. The City has a contract with River City Recycling to receive bulky waste at subsidized prices. The driver’s license information was required to verify the identity of the resident to ensure the individual resided in the City of Omaha and did not exceed the number of times that they could participate in the program on an annual basis. Going forward, while a driver’s license number will be required to be presented to participate in the program, River City Recycling will no longer be storing the driver’s license numbers. River City Recycling also deleted the files from its servers that contained the driver’s license information associated with the Bulky Item Disposal program.

On April 5, 2023, River City Recycling mailed a notification letter via U.S. First Class Mail to the Omaha residents and offered the residents one year of credit monitoring, fraud consultation, and identity theft restoration services by IDX. River City Recycling also provided a list of recommended steps that residents can take to protect their information. River City Recycling established a dedicated call center for residents to call with questions about the incident.

River City Recycling has used this incident as an opportunity to strengthen our existing security controls.

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