Attorney General Richard Blumenthal today announced that Bristol-Myers Squibb has agreed to his demand for additional identity theft protections for about 6,500 Connecticut residents whose personal information was lost during the summer in a data breach in Brazil.

The affected consumers are current and former Bristol-Myers Squibb employees who live in the state. The lost data includes Social Security numbers, names, addresses, phone numbers, birthdays, marital status, race, citizenship and veterans' status.

The information was on a backup tape stolen June 3 from a contractor's van in Brazil on its way to a storage facility. While unencrypted, the tape had numerous, sophisticated security features that would make it difficult to access.

The company in July provided affected former and current employees with free credit monitoring and $25,000 insurance against identity theft for a year. Blumenthal learned of the data breach in late August and asked Bristol-Myers Squibb to increase the protections to two years, which it agreed to.

Blumenthal's office said the company has yet to respond to his request that it pay to freeze credit on vulnerable accounts as an extra shield against fraud.

"These measures offer strong necessary protection against the Bristol-Myers Squibb data breach, which is unacceptable and indefensible," Blumenthal said. "Companies must understand that personal information is as valuable as cash and protect it with equal vigor and vigilance.''

Consumers with questions about the data breach can call (877) 214-0689. 

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