April 2019 Was the Worst Ever Month for Healthcare Data Breaches
April was a record-breaking month for healthcare data breaches. More data breaches were reported by [...]
The HIPAA Guide - Celebrating Over 15 Years Online
HIPAA News Today: Breaches, Violations, and Fines
This section of The HIPAA Guide provides insights into HIPAA breaches, offering up-to-date reports on data violations within the healthcare sector. Readers can explore real-world case studies, breach penalties, and guidance on how healthcare organizations can improve data security. It also covers the consequences of non-compliance, breach notification requirements, and the latest cybersecurity threats affecting patient health information (PHI). Stay informed and learn how to prevent breaches to ensure both compliance and the protection of sensitive patient data.
Multiple HIPAA Violations at Medical Imaging Services Company Result in $3 Million Penalty
Touchstone Medical Imaging, a Franklin, Tennessee-based provider of medical imaging services, has agreed to [...]
912,992 Records Exposed in Healthcare Data Breaches in March 2019
February was a particularly bad month for healthcare data breaches, so it is no surprise there was a fall in [...]
PHI of 12,000 Baystate Health Patients Exposed Due to Phishing Attack
A phishing attack on Baystate Health in Massachusetts has exposed the protected health information (PHI) of [...]
1,600 Ohio Patients Impacted by Impermissible Disclosures of PHI
993 Ohio residents who are beneficiaries of Medicaid or have received services from the Ohio Department of [...]
PHI Compromised Due to Emotet Malware Attack on Oregon Endodontic Group and Humana Web Portal Breach
An office computer used by Oregon Endodontic Group has been infected with malware, which may have allowed [...]
PHI of 14,305 Patients Exposed Due to a Phishing Attack on Main Line Endoscopy Centers
Main Line Endoscopy Centers, a network of outpatient endoscopy clinics in the Malvern, Media and Bala Cynwyd [...]
Sharp Grossmont Hospital Faces Lawsuit For Video Recording Patients During Gynecology Procedures
Sharp HealthCare and Sharp Grossmont Hospital have been accused of covertly recording videos in an area of [...]
National Board of Examiners in Optometry to Pay $3.25 Million to Settle 2016 Data Breach Lawsuit
A class action lawsuit that was filed on behalf of victims of a 2016 data breach at the National Board of [...]
Michigan Practice to Close Down Due to Ransomware Attack
A ransomware attack on Brookside ENT and Hearing Center located in Battle Creek prompted the Michigan [...]
Security Breaches Reported by DePaul and Southern Hills Eye Care
DePaul is informing a number of its behavioral health program patients about the exposure of their protected [...]
PHI of 67,493 Burrell Behavioral Health Patients Exposed Due to Business Associate Breach
Burrell Behavioral Health is informing 67,493 patients about the accidental exposure of their healthcare [...]
Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against UnityPoint Health for February 2018 Data Breach
A class action lawsuit has been filed against UnityPoint Health over a data breach that exposed 16,429 [...]
Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services To Pay $1.6 Million Settlement Over 2015 Data Breach
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights and the Texas Department of Aging and [...]
PHI Exposure of Superior Dental Care Patients and L.A. Care Health Plan Members
The dental insurance provider, Superior Dental Care, based in Centerville, Ohio, has discovered an [...]
UCLA Health to Pay $7.5 Million to Settle Class Action Data Breach Lawsuit
UCLA Health has agreed to pay a $7.5 million settlement to resolve a class action lawsuit that was filed on [...]
PHI of 14,894 Patients Impacted by Third Verity Health System Phishing Attack in 3 Months
Verity Health system encountered its third phishing attack in January 2019 in three months, which impacted [...]
Email Archiving Solution Exposed PHI of 277,319 Patients
ZOLL Medical Corporation, a medical device manufacturer and software developer in Pennsylvania, is informing [...]
Healthcare Data Breach Report in February 2019
February 2019 saw healthcare data breaches reported at a ate of more than one a day, as was the case in [...]
70,000 People Impacted By Three Healthcare Ransomware Attacks
Three new ransomware attacks have recently been reported by healthcare companies and their business [...]
Over 5000 People Impacted by Two Breaches Due to Laptop Theft and Mailing Error
A Massachusetts business associate has reported a breach of the electronic protected health information [...]
Dozens of Employees Fired for Snooping on Jussie Smollett’s Medical Records
Dozen of healthcare employees at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago have been terminated for snooping [...]
7,858 Patients’ PHI Potentially Exposed Due to Covenant Care Email Account Breach
Covenant Care in Aliso Viejo, CA, a network of residential care and skilled nursing facilities, found that an [...]
Former Patient Care Coordinator Pleads Guilty to Wrongfully Disclosing PHI with Intent to Cause Harm
Ms. Linda Sue Kalina, 61, of Butler, PA, a former employee of Tri Rivers Musculoskeletal (TRM) and Allegheny [...]
St. Francis Physicians Services Notifies Patients of Milestone Family Medicine Data Breach
Bon Secours St. Francis Health System is informing patients that some of their protected health information [...]
Summary of January 2019 Healthcare Data Breaches
After a quiet month in terms of healthcare data breaches, breach reports rose again to more normal levels [...]
New Bill Seeks to Expand the Data Breach Notification Law in California
California already has tough data breach notification laws, but there is a loophole which could soon be [...]
Kentucky Counseling Center Insider Breach Affects 16,440 Patients
A list of 16,440 Kentucky Counseling Center (KCC) patients was stolen and shared with another person. The [...]
Cottage Health to Pay $3 Million to Resolve HIPAA Violation Case
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has agreed to settle a HIPAA [...]
Almost 1 Million Patients of UW Medicine Have PHI Exposed Online
The accidental removal of protections on a UW Medicine website server resulted in the protected health [...]
Business Associate Notified Patients of PHI Theft 8 Months After Discovery of a Data Breach
Sharecare Health Data Services (SHDS) provides secure healthcare records management services to healthcare [...]
PHI of 30,000 Memorial Hospital Patients and 5,524 AZ Plastic Surgery Center Patients Breached
Memorial Hospital at Gulfport, Mississippi, is informing around 30,000 patients that unauthorized persons [...]
42,000 Patients Impacted by 16-Month Malware Attack on Florida Pulmonary & Sleep Medicine Center
The AdventHealth Medical Group Pulmonary & Sleep Medicine in Tavares, Florida, previously called Lake [...]
March 1, 2019 is the Last Day for Submitting Small Healthcare Data Breach Reports
The deadline for submitting 2018 data breach reports for breaches that have affected fewer than 500 [...]
Massive Annual Increase in Exposed Healthcare Records
2018 saw a massive increase in the number of exposed healthcare records according to the 2019 Breach [...]
Theft of Patient Schedules Results in Potential Exposure of PHI of 3,472 Anesthesia Associates of Kansas City Patients
Paperwork containing information on patients has been stolen from an Anesthesia Associates of Kansas City [...]
Malware Attack on Pawnee County Memorial Hospital Impacts 7,000 Patients
Pawnee County Memorial Hospital located in Pawnee City, Nebraska, is notifying 7,038 patients that a hacker [...]
PHI of 24,000 Georgia Eye Associates Patients Exposed Due to EyeSouth Partners Email Account Breach
A hacker accessed the email account of an employee of EyeSouth Partners and potentially viewed or acquired [...]
EHR Vendor to Pay $57.25 Million For False Claims Act Violation
Greenway Health LLC, an electronic health record (EHR) software developer based in Tampa, FL, has agreed to [...]
24,500 Patients’ PHI Exposed Due to Cyberattacks on Connecticut Eye Clinic and Chaplaincy Health Care
A ransomware attack on Dr. DeLuca Dr. Marciano & Associates, P.C., an eye care clinic located in [...]
Data Breaches at Valley Professionals Community Health Center and Sunflower State Health Plan Impact 13,625 Patients
Valley Professionals Community Health Center in Indiana has experienced a phishing attack that has resulted [...]
Aetna Pays $935,000 to California AG to Settle HIV Status Breach Case
The Connecticut health insurer Aetna has agreed to pay a financial penalty of $935,000 to the California [...]
Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act Allows Legal Action Over Violations Even Without Actual Harm
The Illinois Supreme Court has decided that state residents can file a lawsuit against a private entity when [...]
Ransomware Attack on FABEN Obstetrics and Gynecology Results in Patient Data Loss
FABEN Obstetrics and Gynecology in Jacksonville, FL has suffered a ransomware attack which has resulted in [...]
2018 Healthcare Data Breaches Analysis
Since October 2009, the Department of Health and Human Services’ office for civil Rights (OCR) has been [...]
PHI of 7,200 Integrity House Patients Stored on Stolen Computers
A break-in at the offices of addiction treatment services provider Integrity House had potentially resulted [...]
Critical Care, Pulmonary & Sleep Associates Email-Related Breach Impacts 23,300 Patients
A data breach at Critical Care, Pulmonary & Sleep Associates (CCPSA) in Colorado has impacted over 23,300 [...]
Alaska Department of Health and Social Services Breach Impacted 87,000 More Patients Than Previously Thought
In April 2018, the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (ADHSS) discovered that malware had been [...]
All-Star Orthopaedics and Dermacare Brickell Data Breaches Impact 77,800 Patients
All-Star Orthopaedics has notified patients of Las Colinas Orthopedic Surgery & Sports Medicine in [...]
Healthcare Data Breach Report for December 2018
December was the second-best month of 2018 for healthcare data breaches with only 23 healthcare data breaches [...]
Tougher Data Breach Notification Laws in North Carolina Sought By State AG
With the increasing number of data breaches impacting North Carolina residents in 2017, state representative [...]
Valley Hope Association Alerts Patients About Email-Related Breach
Valley Hope Association has discovered that an unauthorized individual has gained access to an [...]
Doctor Gets Probation for Criminal HIPAA Violation Instead of a Jail Term
A doctor pleaded guilty to committing a criminal violation of HIPAA Rules for wrongfully disclosing the PHI [...]
Email-Related Breach at Lebanon VA Medical Center Exposed the PHI of 1,000 Patients
Lebanon VA Medical Center based in Pennsylvania found out that the protected health information (PHI) of [...]
New Data Breach Notification Law in Massachusetts Enacted
A new data breach notification law in Massachusetts was enacted on January 10, 2019. The new law was signed [...]
BenefitMall Email Security Breach: PHI of 111K Individuals Compromised
Centerstone Insurance and Financial Services, doing business as BenefitMall, has sent notifications to over [...]
Boston Children’s Hospital DDoS Attacker Sentenced to 10 Years in Jail
Martin Gottesfeld, 34, of Somerville, MA, the hacker responsible for a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) [...]
PHI of Sacred Heart Rehabilitation Center Patients Exposed Due to Phishing Attack
Sacred Heart Rehabilitation Center in Memphis, MI, provides substance abuse treatment and care services for [...]
Multiple Cybersecurity Failures Led to SingHealth’s 1.5-Million Records Breach
A healthcare data breach investigation revealed that failing to implement basic cybersecurity best practices [...]
Phishing Attack on Kent County Community Mental Health Authority Exposed Patient PHI
A targeted phishing attack on Kent County Community Mental Health Authority, dba Network180, began on October [...]
500 Patients of Solis Mammography Informed of Laptop Theft and PHI Exposure
Ben-Ora, Hansen, Vanesian Imaging Ltd, has announced that an unencrypted laptop computer used by a Solis [...]
Ransomware Attack on Business Associate of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
A ransomware attack on a business associate of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has potentially compromised [...]
Breaches at Podiatric Offices of Bobby Yee and Humana Impact 580,000 People
The Podiatric Offices of Bobby Yee experienced a ransomware attack on October 29, 2018. The attack resulted [...]
Phishing Attack on Orlando Family Physicians Group Impacts 8,400 Patients
Family Physicians Group in Orlando has informed 8,400 patients that a phishing attack has allowed hackers to [...]
2018 HIPAA Fines and Settlements Summary
This post is a summary of the 2018 HIPAA fines and settlements that have been agreed with either the [...]
4,309 Choice Rehabilitation Residents Impacted by Email Account Breach
Choice Rehabilitation of Creve Coeur, MO has announced that an unauthorized person has gained access to an [...]
PHI of Dental Center of Northwest Ohio Patients Exposed Due to Ransomware Attack
The Dental Center of Northwest Ohio located in Toledo, OH, has notified present and past patients that some [...]
Flowers Hospital to Pay $150,000 to Settle Data Breach Lawsuit
Flowers Hospital in Dothan, AL has agreed to settle a class action data breach lawsuit that was filed against [...]
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Informs 15,000 Customers About Data Breach
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has advised around 15,000 customers that some of their private and [...]
Summary of the Biggest Healthcare Data Breaches of 2018
This is a summary of the biggest healthcare data breaches of 2018. The healthcare data breaches referred to [...]
San Diego School District Phishing Attack Exposed the Data of Over 500,000 Staff and Students
The San Diego School District has announced that a phishing attack resulted in the exposure of the private [...]
Lawsuit Filed Against LifeBridge Health Over Theft of PHI of 530,000 Patients
A lawsuit has been filed against LifeBridge Health over a breach of the protected health information (PHI) of [...]
McLean Hospital to Pay $75,000 HIPAA Violation Fine
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey has fined McLean Hospital $75,000 for a data breach in 2015 that [...]
Court Ruled in Favor of Patient In Impermissible PHI Disclosure Lawsuit
An 11-year legal case filed after a woman’s healthcare records were released to her ex-boyfriend has at [...]
Healthcare Data Breach Report in November 2018
In November, 34 healthcare data breaches were reported to OCR, which makes it the second worst month of 2018 [...]
32,000 Patients’ PHI Potentially Exposed in Elizabethtown Community Hospital Email Breach
Around 32,000 patients of the University of Vermont Health Network’s Elizabethtown Community Hospital have [...]
Credit Card Breach at BJC Healthcare and PHI Breach at CCRM Dallas-Fort Worth
BJC HealthCare, a large not-for-profit healthcare network in the U.S., has discovered hackers uploaded [...]
Contra Costa Health Plan and Ramsey County Social Services PHI Breaches Reported
Contra Costa Health Plan (CCHP) is sending notifications to patients to alert them that some of their [...]
PHI of 16,000 Mind & Motion Patients Potentially Compromised Due to Ransomware Attack
Mind & Motion Developmental Centers of Georgia has discovered hackers installed malware and ransomware on [...]
EmblemHealth Fined $100,000 for HIPAA Violations
The New Jersey state attorney general’s office has fined the health insurance company [...]
Colorado Hospital to Pay $111,400 for Failure to Deactivate PHI Access of Former Employee
A Colorado hospital is to pay OCR $111,400 for failing to terminate the access of a former employee to its [...]
Frisco Medical Center Breach: Payment Information of 48,000 Patients Exposed
Baylor Scott & White Medical Center, located in Frisco, TX, has learned about a potential compromise of [...]
Malware Attack on the University of Maryland Medical System Successfully Thwarted
The University of Maryland Medical System discovered on December 9, 2018, that an unauthorized person [...]
Prairie Fields Family Medicine’s Email-Related Privacy Breach Impacts 6,450 Patients
Prairie Fields Family Medicine, based in Fremont, NE, is notifying 6,450 patients about the potential [...]
18,000 People Affected by Three Separate Healthcare Security Breaches
Redwood Eye Center Ransomware Attack IT Lighthouse, the managed service provider hosting the electronic [...]
Summary of Ransomware Attacks on Healthcare Providers in Illinois and Rhode Island
This is a summary of healthcare ransomware attacks, security incidents and privacy breaches that have been [...]
PHI of 41,000 Cancer Treatment Centers of America Patients Potentially Exposed
Cancer Treatment Centers of America’s Western Regional Medical Center located in Bullhead City, AZ has [...]
Advanced Care Hospitalists Pays $500,000 to Settle Multiple HIPAA Violations
The HHS’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has investigated a case of impermissible disclosure of PHI by a [...]
PHI of 7,000 Georgia Spine and Orthopaedics of Atlanta Patients Exposed Due to Phishing Attack
Georgia Spine and Orthopaedics of Atlanta (GSOA) is notifying certain patients about the potential theft of [...]
Partial Closure of Emergency Rooms at Two Hospitals Due to Ransomware Attack
East Ohio Regional Hospital (EORH) in Martins Ferry, OH and Ohio Valley Medical Center (OVMC) in Wheeling, WV [...]
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Reinstates UPMC Data Breach Lawsuit
The employees affected by a data breach at University of Pennsylvania Medical Center (UPMC) took legal action [...]
PHI of 7,000 Patients Exposed Due to Tandigm Health Website Vulnerability
Healthcare company Tandigm Health discovered a vulnerability on its website on September 25, 2018. The [...]
Over Half Of Healthcare Data Breaches Caused By Insiders
The healthcare industry is a target for hackers but while there have been many hacks and IT incidents, [...]
Allergy Practice in Hartford Fined $125,000 for Impermissible PHI Disclosure
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has settled potential HIPAA [...]
Healthcare Data Breach Report for October 2018
HIPAA Journal’s healthcare data breach report for October 2018 shows an increase in healthcare data [...]
Key Dental Group Notifies Patients of Potential HIPAA Violation
Key Dental Group in Pembroke Pines, FL is notifying patients about a possible HIPAA violation that could [...]
PHI of 4,458 Patients Stored on Stolen FHN Healthcare Laptop
FHN Healthcare, which manages FHN Memorial Hospital located in Freeport, IL and other family healthcare [...]
Episcopal Health Services Patients Impacted by Email Hacking Incident
St. John’s Episcopal Hospital and Episcopal Health Services in New York have notified past and present [...]
Phishing Attack on Southwest Washington Regional Surgery Center Affects 2,393 Patients
A phishing attack on Southwest Washington Regional Surgery Center located in Vancouver, WA, resulted in the [...]
Upstate University Hospital Breach Impacts PHI of 1,216 Patients
Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse, NY, has informed 1,216 of its patients that a former hospital worker [...]
PHI of 94,000 People Exposed Due to HealthCare.gov Data Breach
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reported last month that the HealthCare.gov website [...]
Ransomware Attack on May Eye Care Center Impacts 30,000 Patients
On July 29, 2018, May Eye Care Center, located in Hanover, PA, was attacked with ransomware. The ransomware [...]
Phishing Attack on Health First Compromised 42,000 Customers’ PHI
Health First Inc., a health system with four hospitals based in Florida, experienced a hacking/IT incident [...]
Former Chilton Medical Center Employee Sentenced for Theft of Computer Equipment
Sergiu Jitcu of Saddle Brook, NJ was a former IT employee of Chilton Medical Center in New Jersey. He was [...]
Healthcare Security Breaches from 2015 to 2017
The last three years have seen 955 major healthcare security breaches that resulted in the exposure and/or [...]
Billing Information of 12,331 Inova Health System Patients Compromised
Inova Health System based in Falls Church, VA is informing 12,331 patients that there has been a breach of [...]
Healthcare Data Breach Report for Q3 2018
The Q3 Breach Barometer Report from Protenus shows a drop in the number of healthcare data breaches in Q3 [...]
The Most Common HIPAA Violations Healthcare Organizations Should be Aware Of
The most common HIPAA violations committed by healthcare organizations that have resulted in financial [...]
566,217 Customers of Bankers Life Impacted by Data Breach
Bankers Life, based in Chicago, is a health insurance company and the largest division of CNO Financial Group [...]
Business Associate Pays $200,000 to New Jersey for Virtua Medical Data Breach
Best Medical Transcription agreed to pay a $200,000 settlement to the New Jersey Attorney’s office to [...]
Medicaid Data Breach Report for 2016 Published by OIG
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) has released a new report [...]
Potential Exposure of PHI of 10,000 Raley’s Pharmacy Patients Due to Stolen Laptop
Raley’s Pharmacy is sending notifications to around 10,000 patients about the possible exposure of some of [...]
MHSS Business Associate Improperly Retained PHI of 10,400 Patients
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (MHSS) is informing 10,400 patients about a recently [...]
Ransomware Attack on Sioux City Eye Clinic Potentially Exposed the PHI of 40,000 Patients
The Jones Eye Clinic and CJ Elmwood Partners, L.P, located in Sioux City, IA, have discovered the protected [...]
Catawba Valley Medical Center and Byram Healthcare Breaches Impact Over 20,000 Patients
Catawba Valley Medical Center (CVMC) located in Hickory, NC, found out on August 13, 2018 that an [...]
FirstCare Health Plans Informs 8,000+ Members of Accidental PHI Disclosure
FirstCare Health Plans in Texas is informing over 8,000 plan members about the impermissible disclosure of [...]
Healthcare Data Breach Report for September 2018
September saw 25 healthcare data breaches of more than 500 records reported to the Department of Health and [...]
Employees Retirement System of Texas Data Breach Affects Up to 1.25 Million Individuals
The Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS) has discovered a problem with its ERS OnLine portal. When some [...]
16,000 National Ambulatory Hernia Institute Patients Impacted by Ransomware Attack
California’s National Ambulatory Hernia Institute experienced a ransomware attack on September 13, 2018 [...]
$640,000 Paid by Aetna to Settle HIPAA Violation Case with State Attorneys General
Two mailing errors in 2017 resulted in the impermissible disclosure of Aetna plan members’ protected [...]
Biomarin Pharmaceutical and Envision Healthcare Corporation Report Email-Related Breaches
Biomarin Pharmaceutical and Envision Healthcare Corporation have both recently announced that they have [...]
PHI of 21,000 Patients of Minnesota DHS Potentially Compromised
Two recent phishing attacks on the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) have resulted in a potential [...]
Round Up of Recent Healthcare Data Breaches
Here’s a summary of the healthcare data breaches reported to OCR by healthcare providers and business [...]
Phishing Attack on Gold Coast Health Plan: PHI of 37,000 Members Potentially Compromised
Gold Coast Health Plan based in Camarillo, CA is alerting 37,000 plan members that hackers have potentially [...]
KHOU Employee Found Abandoned Paper Records Containing PHI in Houston Street
An employee of KHOU 11, a CBS-affiliated TV station, discovered abandoned paperwork that contained the [...]
Phishing Attack on Aspire Health Resulted in PHI Theft
Aspire Health is a Nashville, TN in-home services provider for patients diagnosed with critical illnesses. [...]
Gynecologist Lost Her License But Did Not Get Jail Time and Fine for Criminal HIPAA Violation
In April 2018, 65-year old former Massachusetts gynecologist Rita Luthra was found guilty of a criminal [...]
Ex-Employee of Brooklyn’s Kings County Hospital Accused of Stealing and Selling Patients’ PHI
An employee of the emergency unit in Brooklyn’s Kings County Hospital has been charged with stealing [...]
Rising Incidences of HIPAA Violations on Social Media
Posting protected health information (PHI) on social media sites, including closed Facebook groups, violates [...]
PHI of 17,000 Independence Blue Cross Members Was Exposed Online
Independence Blue Cross in Philadelphia has notified 17,000 of its plan members that their protected health [...]
CMS Investigates Fairview Southdale Hospital Patient Privacy Violation
The HHS’ Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has investigated Fairview Southdale Hospital in [...]
Email-Related Breaches Reported by Hopebridge and United Methodist Homes
Hopebridge, a healthcare organization that operates a network of 28 autism treatment centers across the [...]
Texas Nurse Fired for Sharing PHI on Social Media
A nurse employed at Texas Children’s Hospital has lost her job as a result of sharing protected health [...]
Acadiana Computer Systems Phishing Attack Impacts 31,000 Individuals
Lafayette, Louisiana-based Acadiana Computer Services Inc., provides software and business solutions to the [...]
Healthcare Data Breach Report for August 2018
In August, 28 healthcare data breaches were reported to the HHS’ Office for Civil Rights which represents a [...]
Over 21,000 Patients’ PHI Potentially Exposed Due to Reliable Respiratory Phishing Attack
Reliable Respiratory, a respiratory care provider located in Norwood, MA, has experienced a phishing attack [...]
New Mexico Hospital Health Records Found Scattered in the Street
The New Mexico Department of Health is conducting an investigation into how the confidential medical files of [...]
HIPAA Violation Cases: 2013 – 2017
This page contains a summary of HIPAA violation cases between 2013 and 2017 which led to civil monetary [...]
1,790 Patients Impacted by Phishing Attack on Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center in Los Angeles
Authentic Recovery Center, a drug and alcohol treatment center based in West Los Angeles, recently [...]
PHI of 19,570 Missouri Care Members Exposed Due to Mailing Error
An error in a Missouri Care mailing reminding parents to book well-child appointments has resulted in the [...]
McAlester Hospital Sued Over Impermissible Disclosure of PHI and HIPAA Violation
Dennis and Wayne Russell’s adopted two-year old son Keon died in a tragic swimming pool [...]
Healthcare Data Breach Report for July 2018
July 2018 is by far the worst month in 2018 with respect to healthcare data breaches. There were 33 [...]
PHI of 4,000 Patients of Colorado Dermatology Potentially Accessed
Central Colorado Dermatology (CCD) has informed more than 4,000 patients that hackers have potentially [...]
Legacy Health Phishing Attack Exposed 38,000 Patients’ PHI
Legacy Health has discovered an unauthorized individual has accessed its email system and potentially viewed [...]
9,350 Patients of Gordon Schanzlin New Vision Institute Warned About Data Breach
The Gordon Schanzlin New Vision Institute located in La Jolla, CA, has informed thousands of patients that [...]
Anthem’s $115 Million Data Breach Settlement Finally Approved
Anthem Inc. proposed a $115 million settlement in 2017 to resolve the class action lawsuits filed by the [...]
InterAct of Michigan Email Account Compromised Exposing 1,290 Patients’ PHI
The mental health and substance abuse treatment provider InterAct of Michigan has announced that [...]
Adams County Government Data Breach Impacts 258,000 People
A data security breach has occurred in Adams County, Wisconsin where the personal identification information, [...]
Augusta University Health Phishing Attacks Affected 417,000 People
Augusta University Health has announced it has experienced a data breach that has affected approximately [...]
Did the Oklahoma Department of Veteran Affairs Violate HIPAA Rules?
Three Democrat lawmakers have accused the Oklahoma Department of Veteran Affairs of violating Health [...]
13,034 Patients Affected by MedSpring Urgent Care Breach
MedSpring Urgent Care, a network of emergency care clinics located in Austin, Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Fort [...]
More Than 3.14 Million Healthcare Records Were Exposed in Q2, 2018
Protenus has released its Q2 2018 Breach Barometer Report – A summary and analysis of healthcare data [...]
PHI of 300,000 SSM Health Patients Exposed
Approximately 300,000 patients of SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital in Jefferson City, Missouri have been [...]
Four Healthcare Data Breaches Exposed the PHI of 9,400 Patients
This is a summary of data breaches that have recently to the Department of Health and Human Services’ [...]
UnityPoint Health Phishing Attack Affects 1.4 Million Patients
A phishing attack on UnityPoint Health has allowed hackers to gain access to the protected health information [...]
19,000 Patients of Orlando Orthopaedic Center Affected by Transcription Service Provider Breach
The protected health information (PHI) of over 19,000 patients was exposed due to an error by a transcription [...]
Confluence Health Discovers Phishing Attack Resulted in PHI Exposure
A data breach has been reported by Confluence Health, a non-profit health system managing Wenatchee Valley [...]
17,000 Patients’ PHI Exposed in Oregon and Massachusetts
The medical records of more than 17,000 patients have been exposed in two data breaches in Oregon and [...]
$150,000 Settlement Proposed by Flowers Hospital for 2014 Data Breach
A class action lawsuit filed in the aftermath of a data breach at Flowers Hospital in Dothan, Alabama in 2014 [...]
More than 105,000 Individuals Affected by Healthcare Phishing Attack
Boys Town National Research Hospital (Boys Town) in Omaha, NE has discovered that an employee was fooled by a [...]
Malware and Ransomware Attack on Blue Springs Family Care Affects Almost 45,000 Patients
Blue Springs Family Care in Missouri was attacked with ransomware resulting in the encryption of [...]
3,775 Patients Informed of Unauthorized Access to a New York Physician’s Computer
Ruben U. Carvajal, MD, a doctor in New York, has started informing his patients that unauthorized individuals [...]
M.M. Ewing Continuing Care Center Employees Fired Over Snapchat Photo Sharing
Thompson Health’s M.M. Ewing Continuing Care Center, a nursing home in Canandaigua, NY, has discovered that [...]
Healthcare Data Breach Report for June 2018
Reported healthcare data breaches in June 2018 increased by 13.8% month-over-month although there were 42.48% [...]
44,600 Patients Affected by Golden Heart Administrative Professionals Ransomware Attack
Golden Heart Administrative Professionals based in Fairbanks, AK is a billing company that serves as a [...]
Phishing Attacks on Sunspire Health and UPMC Cole Compromised Several Employee Email Accounts
Two more healthcare companies have announced they have been victims of phishing attacks that have allowed [...]
LabCorp Attacked with Ransomware But PHI Access Still Not Confirmed
LabCorp, a major network of clinical laboratories in the U.S., experienced a cyberattack that potentially [...]
Phishing Attack on Alive Hospice Compromised Patients’ PHI
Alive Hospice in Tennessee has discovered the email accounts of two employees were compromised after the [...]
UMC Physicians and MSK Group Notify Patients of PHI Breach
The email account of a doctor at UMC Physicians in Texas was hacked, which resulted to the potential exposure [...]
Billings Clinic Employee’s Email Account Hacked Exposing 8,400 Patients’ PHI
The protected health information (PHI) of 8,400 patients contained in the email account of an employee of [...]
PHI of HIV Patients Exposed Because Metro Health Employee Made a Mistake
According to a report published in The Tennessean, a Metro Health employee made an error that resulted in the [...]
Factors that Increase the Cost of Resolving a Data Breach
The Ponemon Institute and IBM have explained several factors that impact the cost of data breaches in the [...]
Healthcare Data Breach Costs Now $408 Per Record
The Ponemon Institute has conducted its annual Cost of a Data Breach Study on behalf of IBM Security, which [...]
Lack of Authentication Controls on MedEvolve FTP Server Exposed Patients’ PHI
An FTP server used by MedEvolve, a provider of billing and medical record services to healthcare providers, [...]
Lawsuit Filed Against Children’s Mercy Hospital for Data Breach of 63,000 Patients’ PHI
A lawsuit has been filed against Children’s Mercy Hospital following a phishing attack that resulted in the [...]
Arkansas Children’s Hospital Employee Terminated For PHI Theft Involvement
Law enforcement is investigating a former employee of Arkansas Children’s Hospital for being involved in [...]
EHR Vendor’s Coding Error Caused the Impermissible Sharing of Patient Health Data
The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) has informed 150,000 patients that their health data was shared for [...]
Main Line Health Wins Age Discrimination Case Filed By Terminated Employee
In 2016, Main Line Health Inc. based in Radnor, PA dismissed an employee named Gloria Terrell for a violation [...]
Ransomware Attack on Cass Regional Medical Center Shuts Down EHR System
Cass Regional Medical Center in Harrisonville, MO has announced it suffered a ransomware attack at 11 am on [...]
Manitowoc County Phishing Attack Resulted in PHI Theft
Manitowoc County in Wisconsin fell victim to a phishing attack resulting in the theft of protected health [...]
Humana Notifies Members About Sophisticated Cyber Spoofing Attack That Exposed PHI
Humana is informing members about a “sophisticated spoofing attack” which potentially resulted in [...]
Healthcare Employee Indicted for Criminal HIPAA Violations
A former patient information coordinator at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has been indicted by [...]
Potential Theft of PHI from Alaska DHSS Due to Zeus Trojan Infection
The Alaska Department of Health and Social Services (ADHSS) is informing ‘over 500’ persons that hackers [...]
PHI of 870 Patients of Michigan Medicine Potentially Exposed Due to Laptop Theft
Michigan Medicine has informed 870 of its patients that an unencrypted laptop computer has been stolen, [...]
PHI Breach at Associated Dermatology & Skin Cancer Clinic of Helena Impacts 1,254 Patients
A breach of physical protected health information (PHI) has been reported by Associated Dermatology & [...]
Grant Medical Center Repeatedly Sent Faxes with PHI to the Wrong Recipient
OhioHealth’s Grant Medical Center sent faxes containing the protected health information (PHI) of a [...]
PHI Breach Due to Interception of Unencrypted Hospital Pages
Outdated pager systems have now been replaced by secure messaging systems in many healthcare organizations. [...]
Washington Health System Employees Suspended for Unauthorized PHI Access
Washington Health System has suspended a number of its employees after discovering they inappropriately [...]
Healthcare Data Breach Report for May 2018
In April 2018, 41 healthcare data breaches were reported to the HHS’ Office for Civil Rights. The 29 [...]
Med Associates Breach Potentially Affected 270,000 Patients
Med Associates in Latham, NY is a health billing company that provides claims services to over 70 healthcare [...]
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Ordered to Pay $4.3 Million HIPAA Violation Penalty
The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights recently issued its fourth largest [...]
Employee Guilty of PHI Theft Jailed: Snooping Employees Fired
An ex-employee of Veteran Affairs Medical Center in Long Beach, CA named Albert Torres, 51, was sentenced to [...]
Burglaries in Corpus Christi and San Francisco Resulted in PHI Breach
Patients of two HIPAA-covered entities received notification that their protected health information (PHI) [...]
Is SendGrid HIPAA Compliant?
SendGrid is a platform that companies use for email marketing. It makes communicating marketing messages to [...]
Phishing Attack on HealthEquity Potentially Compromised Members’ PHI
HealthEquity Inc based in Draper, UT, suffered a phishing attack which resulted in the protected health [...]
Phishing Attack on Terros Health Potentially Exposed 1,600 Patients’ PHI
An employee working for Terros Health in Phoenix, AZ fell for a phishing scam and inadvertently disclosed [...]
Ransomware Attack on Rise Wisconsin Potentially Impacted 3,700 Plan Members
Rise Wisconsin is notifying over 3,700 plan members of an incident that has potentially resulted in an [...]
Nurse Faces 12-Months Suspension for Disclosing Patient Information to New Employer
A nurse practitioner has had her license to practice suspended for 12 months by the New York State Education [...]
Server and Email Hacking Potentially Compromised PHI of Patients
Hacking incidents continue to dominate healthcare data breach reports. One such incident has recently been [...]
Impostor and Burglar Obtained the PHI of Patients
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois has discovered the the protected health information (PHI) of a number of [...]
Healthcare Employees Stole Patients’ PHI to Take to New Employers
Former employees of two HIPAA-covered entities accessed and stole patients’ protected health information [...]
Potential Legal Action Over EMS Worker Due to Facebook Post
Kathy Raymond from Roane County, TN, is considering taking legal action against an EMS worker over a Facebook [...]
Two Lawsuits Filed Over Alleged HIPAA Violations
Two lawsuits have recently been filed over violations of HIPAA Rules. One case involved a former employee of [...]
Aetna Attempts to Recover Privacy Breach Settlement Costs By Filing Further Lawsuit
Another lawsuit has been filed by Aetna in an attempt to recover the costs incurred due to a 2017 privacy [...]
Purdue University Discovered Two Security Breaches Potentially Compromising PHI
Purdue University’s security team discovered two security breaches in April that potentially allowed [...]
Dignity Health Reported to OCR Multiple Data Breaches
Dignity Health reported multiple data breaches and HIPAA violations to the Department of Health and Human [...]
Aultman Health Foundation Phishing Attack Potentially Impacts 42,600 Patients
Aultman Health Foundation is informing around 42,600 patients that their protected health information (PHI) [...]
Minnesota Ransomware Attack Potentially Impacted 6,500 Patients
The Associates in Psychiatry and Psychology (APP) based in Rochester, MN had a ransomware attack which [...]
HHS OCR Plans to Give HIPAA Breach Victims Percentage of Breach Settlements
In the 2009 Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, there’s a [...]
LifeBridge Health Data Breach Impacts 538,000 Patients
LifeBridge Health in Baltimore experienced a data breach which was mentioned in a press release on May 16, [...]
Transcription Company Web Portal Breach Exposed Patients’ Medical Notes
MEDantex, a transcription company, inadvertently left patient healthcare information unsecured and openly [...]
Malware Attack on Florida Hospital Websites Potentially Exposed Patients’ PHI
Florida Hospital utilizes three websites that were attacked by malware. Due to the malware attack, it is very [...]
Jury to Decide If Psychiatrist’s Dismissal was Indeed Due to HIPAA Violation
Steward Healthcare System in Boston fired Dr. Alexander Lipin, a psychiatrist, for allegedly violating HIPAA [...]
Indiana Physicians Group Attacked with SamSam Ransomware
Part of Allied Physicians Group of Michiana’s network was down because of a ransomware attack. This [...]
Lincare Agreed to Pay $875,000 to Settle W-2 Phishing Scam Lawsuit
Lincare Inc, a respiratory therapy supplier company, agreed to pay $875,000 as settlement for a class-action [...]
Problems Faced by Providers in Processing Copies of Patient Health Records
In a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) audit as required by the 21st Century Cures Act, the [...]
Healthcare Data Breach Report for April 2018
April was a bad month for the healthcare industry because of the higher number of data breaches and the [...]
Nuance Communications Data Breach Potentially Impacts 45,000 Patients
Nuance Communications based in Burlington, MA filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission about [...]
2,553 Eye Care Surgery Center Patients’ PHI Potentially Exposed
Eye Care Surgery Center, Inc, which is located in Baton Rouge, LA, discovered on February 26, 2018 that one [...]
Cerebral Palsy Research Foundation of Kansas Breach Exposed 8,300 Patients’ PHI
Cerebral Palsy Research Foundation of Kansas (CPRF) discovered on March 10, 2018 that the security protection [...]
Patients Filed Class Action Lawsuit on UnityPoint Health Over Misleading Data Breach Notification
UnityPoint Health discovered a data breach on February 15, 2018 that resulted to the exposure of the [...]
17,639 Capital Digestive Care Patients’ PHI Exposed
Capital Digestive Care, an MD-based gastroenterology group in Silver Spring, discovered the error that its [...]
Protenus Q1 2018 Report Highlights the Problem of Insider Breaches in Healthcare
The Protenus’ quarterly breach barometer report is a compilation of data breach information provided by [...]
3 Employees of University of Arkansas Medical Sciences Fired for Patient Privacy Violation
The University of Arkansas Medical Sciences (UAMS) fired three employees because of an alleged violation of [...]
Massachusetts Doctor Found Guilty of Criminal HIPAA Violation
It’s not very common for HIPAA violations to get criminal penalties, but there are cases when the [...]
PHI of 85,000 Patients of Center for Orthopedic Specialists Impacted by Ransomware Attack
Patients consulting with the Center for Orthopaedic Specialists received warning that some of their protected [...]
PHI of 100 Patients In the Possession of a Terminated Employee
An employee of Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) has the protected health information (PHI) [...]
Scenic Bluffs Community Health Centers Notified 2,889 Patients of PHI Breach
Scenic Bluffs Community Health Centers discovered on March 1, 2018 an email account breach, which resulted to [...]
Mailing Printing Error Resulted to the Exposure of 3,000 Patients’ PHI
Maximus Inc is a business process management and technology solutions company providing their services to [...]
Breach Notification of Integrated Rehab Consultants’ Patients Took Longer Than 60 Days
The physiatry group Integrated Rehab Consultants (IRC) based in Chicago, IL sent notification letters to some [...]
Chesapeake Regional Healthcare’s Lost Hard Drives Contained 2,100 patients’ PHI
Chesapeake Regional Healthcare discovered on February 6, 2018 that two hard drives from the Chesapeake [...]
PHI of 42,000 Patients Exposed Due to Server Misconfiguration
The protected health information of 42,000 patients of a New York medical practice was exposed online because [...]
Victims of CVS Caremark Data Breach Filed a Class Action Lawsuit for Damages
The patients of CVS Caremark filed a lawsuit against CVS and its mailing vendor, Fiserve, on March 21, 2018 [...]
Two Cases of PHI Theft by Healthcare Employees Severely Penalized
Employees can be severely penalized for violating HIPAA rules especially if they are involved in the theft of [...]
Protenus’ Healthcare Breach Barometer Report for February 2018
Protenus’ Healthcare Breach Barometer Report for February 2018 has been published. The report talks about [...]
Summary Report of Healthcare Data Breaches in February 2018
February may have the least number of days in a month, but the number of reported healthcare data breaches [...]
ShopRite Failed to Dispose of Electronic Device Properly Exposing 9,956 PHI
An electronic device used by ShopRite Pharmacy in Millville, New Jersey for capturing customer signature was [...]
EmblemHealth to Pay NY Attorney General’s Office $575,000 for HIPAA Breach
EmblemHealth had a mailing error in 2016 that resulted in the disclosure of 81,122 Health Insurance claim [...]
PHI of 1,882 UVa Patients Exposed Due to Malware Infection
A professional hacker accessed the healthcare records of about 1,900 patients of the University of Virginia [...]
6,550 Jemison Internal Medicine Patients Potentially Affected by Ransomware Attack
Jemison Internal Medicine of Alabama had a ransomware attack on December 20, 2017. Electronic health records [...]
MUSC Terminates 13 Employees in 2017 Over PHI Violations
Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) demonstrated how seriously it takes protected health information [...]
Characteristics of Hospital Data Breaches in the US Revealed in AJMC Study
A study published in the American Journal of Managed Care looked into the typical characteristics of hospital [...]
Ransomware Attack on Coastal Cape Fear Eye Associates Impacts 925 Patients
The protected health information of 925 patients was compromised because of a ransomware attack on Coastal [...]
Hancock Health’s Encrypted Files Unlocked After Paying $55K Ransom
Hancock Health in Indiana, Greenfield experienced a ransomware attack which compelled hospital personnel to [...]
Cryptocurrency Malware Found in Decatur County General Hospital’s Server
Decatur County General Hospital in Tennessee discovered on November 27, 2017 that its server housing the [...]
CarePlus Health Plans Mailing Error Disclosed 11,200 Members’ PHI
CarePlus Health Plans in Miami, Florida had a privacy breach incident. The protected health information of [...]
5,200 Residents at a DC Assisted Living Facility Affected by Malware Infection
Westminster Ingleside King Farm Presbyterian Retirement Communities had a malware infection potentially [...]
Protenus Report of Healthcare Data Breaches in 2017
Protenus published its summary and analysis of 2017’s healthcare data breaches using data from [...]
Physician Accessed Pedes Orange County EMR and Disclosed PHI Without Authorization
Pedes Orange County Inc is a healthcare provider in California that specializes in vascular disease [...]
DJO Global PHI Breach Due to Missing Forms Signed by Patients
DJO Global provides medical devices to help patients maintain and regain natural motion. A data breach [...]
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