THE PRIVATE HEALTH INFORMATION OF OVER 6,000 MEMORIAL HERMANN PATIENTS HAS BEEN HACKED
It was just announced on Tuesday, February 8, 2022, that Memorial Hermann experienced a massive data breach involving over 6,000 patients. A link to the press release can be found here
A data breach, or leak, occurs when sensitive, protected, or confidential information is stolen by hackers for personal gain. An unauthorized third party accessed multiple files including the following types of private information: first names, last names, dates of birth, social security numbers, driver’s licenses numbers, financial information, health insurance information, and treatment information. These types of information attract the attention of third parties for whom the data is valuable. Personal, financial, and health information can be sold and used for fraud, marketing, and identity theft. Patients are being encouraged to continue monitoring their credit reports for any signs of theft. Memorial Hermann has said that patients who were impacted by the data breach will be notified by mail in the following week.
It was noted that Advent Health Partner, a contracted vendor for the health care system, first noticed suspicious activity back in September 2021. Despite this, it was not until February 2022, over five months, that Advent Health Partners and Memorial Hermann notified patients of the breach. This breach was not the first time Memorial Hermann has allowed the private information of its patients to be hacked. In March 2021, the previously contracted vendor for the hospital system, Med-Data, Inc., announced that four months prior in December 2020, a data breach occurred and the information of a significant number of patients was stolen.
Data breach threats are becoming increasingly common in today’s world and the consequences can be severe and damaging. Unfortunately, the increasing likelihood of data leaks is not correlated with organizational readiness for such incidents. Many organizations remain underprepared and fail to implement the security measures to prevent a cyber-attack from happening. This negligence causes damage to one’s reputation and credit score. The only proper way to (1) stop these breaches from happening again; and (2) to make a patient whole again, is to take legal action.
If you or anyone you know has been affected by this incident, contact an attorney here at Potts Law Firm immediately by calling (888) 902-6245. If your information was exposed as a result of security breach you may be entitled to compensation. We are here to provide you with the legal representation you deserve and help hold companies accountable for their negligence.