DataBreaches.Net

Menu
  • About
  • Breach Notification Laws
  • Privacy Policy
  • Transparency Report
Menu

Three newly revealed breaches affect over 20,000

Posted on March 27, 2010 by Dissent

Cross-posted from PHIprivacy.net:

The new HHS/OCR web site has added three more breach reports:

Montefiore Medical Center
State: New York
Approx. # of Individuals Affected: 625
Date of Breach: 2/20/10
Type of Breach: Theft
Location of Breached Information: Laptop

Private Practice
City and State: San Antonio, Texas
Approx. # of Individuals Affected: 21,000
Date of Breach: 2/20/10
Type of Breach: Theft
Location of Breached Information: Portable Electronic Device

Aspen Dental Care P.C.
State: Colorado
Approx. # of Individuals Affected: 2,500
Date of Breach: 10/04/09
Type of Breach: Theft
Location of Breached Information: Other

None of these breaches had been reported in the media, to my knowledge, so this is the first we are learning of these incidents. Unfortunately, because of the type of summary HHS/OCR has chosen to provide, we do not know if any SSN or financial information were also involved in the breaches.

The second breach above highlights an issue I’ve raised on this blog before: private practitioners’ names are being shielded. Here you have a practitioner who has a device with unsecured protected health information on 21,000 patients stolen, and we are not told who that is. If you lived in San Antonio, wouldn’t you want to know whether a doctor you were considering using had left PHI unsecured?

As reported previously, OCR told me that they had no choice but to shield names because of the Privacy Act of 1974, but that still seems to clash with the clear intent of Congress. A private practitioner is a business entity, regardless of whether they use their SSN or a Tax ID and regardless of whether they incorporate or not. They should have the same exposure and accountability as all other HIPAA/HITECH-covered entities in this regard.

I put in a call to a member of Congress yesterday about this issue and will follow up.

Related posts:

  • HHS starts to reveal healthcare breaches reported to government
  • HHS Office for Civil Rights Imposes a $240,000 Civil Monetary Penalty Against Providence Medical Institute in HIPAA Ransomware Cybersecurity Investigation
  • Six newly revealed breaches on HHS site
  • Nine more breaches newly revealed on HHS's web site
Category: Breach IncidentsHealth DataTheftU.S.

Post navigation

← Federal Information Security and Data Breach Notification Laws
Thousands of stolen bank account numbers seized in Ontario →

Now more than ever

"Stand with Ukraine:" above raised hands. The illustration is in blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine's flag.

Search

Browse by Categories

Recent Posts

  • Alert: Scattered Spider has added North American airline and transportation organizations to their target list
  • Northern Light Health patients affected by security incident at Compumedics; 10 healthcare entities affected
  • Privacy commissioner reviewing reported Ontario Health atHome data breach
  • CMS warns Medicare providers of fraud scheme
  • Ex-student charged with wave of cyber attacks on Sydney uni
  • Detaining Hackers Before the Crime? Tamil Nadu’s Supreme Court Approves Preventive Custody for Cyber Offenders
  • Potential Cyberattack Scrambles Columbia University Computer Systems
  • 222,000 customer records allegedly from Manhattan Parking Group leaked
  • Breaches have consequences (sometimes) (1)
  • Kansas City Man Pleads Guilty for Hacking a Non-Profit

No, You Can’t Buy a Post or an Interview

This site does not accept sponsored posts or link-back arrangements. Inquiries about either are ignored.

And despite what some trolls may try to claim: DataBreaches has never accepted even one dime to interview or report on anyone. Nor will DataBreaches ever pay anyone for data or to interview them.

Want to Get Our RSS Feed?

Grab it here:

https://databreaches.net/feed/

RSS Recent Posts on PogoWasRight.org

  • Germany Wants Apple, Google to Remove DeepSeek From Their App Stores
  • Supreme Court upholds Texas law requiring age verification on porn sites
  • Justices nix Medicaid ‘right’ to choose doctor, defunding Planned Parenthood in South Carolina
  • European Commission publishes its plan to enable more effective law enforcement access to data
  • Sacred Secrets: The Biblical Case for Privacy and Data Protection
  • Microsoft’s Departing Privacy Chief Calls for Regulator Outreach
  • Nestle USA Settles Suit Over Job-Application Medical Questions

Have a News Tip?

Email: Tips[at]DataBreaches.net

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

Contact Me

Email: info[at]databreaches.net

Mastodon: Infosec.Exchange/@PogoWasRight

Signal: +1 516-776-7756

DMCA Concern: dmca[at]databreaches.net
© 2009 – 2025 DataBreaches.net and DataBreaches LLC. All rights reserved.