DataBreaches.Net

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

NM: Northern Navajo Medical Center patient information turns up in NM storage units

Posted on April 5, 2016 by Dissent

AP reports:

A former employee at a northwestern New Mexico hospital walked off with information on nearly 7,500 patients, hospital officials said.

Documents in cardboard boxes turned up in storage units near Farmington. They were taken from the Northern Navajo Medical Center in Shiprock last fall without authorization, officials said.

Read more on KOAT. Notification was delayed at the request of law enforcement, it seems.

I was able to locate a copy of the medical center’s notification. Here are the relevant parts:

The Navajo Area Indian Health Service (IHS) recently discovered a privacy breach affecting approximately 7,500 Northern Navajo Medical Center patients in Shiprock, New Mexico. IHS wants to reassure patients that at this time, IHS has no knowledge that any information has been used inappropriately and is providing patients with information on what happened and the steps IHS is taking to protect patients.

What happened?

On Oct. 5, 2015, a community member found cardboard boxes containing health information for approximately 470 patients of the Northern Navajo Medical Center at a public rental storage facility in Waterflow, N.M. The community member contacted the Northern Navajo Medical Center in Shiprock and IHS employees immediately retrieved the material and contacted authorities to investigate.

The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General Investigator discovered that a medical center employee had taken documents used for patient registration without authorization from the medical center and stored them with personal items in the public storage facility. As the investigation proceeded, documents related to an additional 7,000 individuals were also found in the employee’s possession, bringing the total impacted to approximately 7,500 individuals. All documents have been retrieved from the storage units and returned to the medical center. At this time IHS has not received any indication that the information has been accessed or used by any unauthorized individuals.

They don’t say when the data theft occurred, however, or how an employee managed to walk out with so many documents, or why the loss of the documents was never noticed internally. Nor does their notice say that notification was delayed at law enforcement’s request, although the media coverage states that it was.  Their notification/announcement also doesn’t indicate what types of information were involved, but the media coverage reports that it Social Security numbers, birthdates, diagnoses and insurance policy numbers were included.

Perhaps their notification letters to individuals includes all the details missing from their announcement.

IHS takes patient privacy very seriously and in light of this incident, has reviewed and updated policies and procedures and provided additional training to help prevent future incidents. IHS is also providing face-to-face privacy training for all department staff, to include records management responsibilities and requirements on maintaining government documents.


Related:

  • Paying cyberattackers is wrong, right? Should Taos County's incident be an exception?
  • HHS OCR Settles HIPAA Ransomware Investigation with Syracuse ASC for $250k plus corrective action plan
  • Clorox Files $380M Suit Alleging Cognizant Gave Hackers Passwords in Catastrophic 2023 Cyberattack
  • Two more entities have folded after ransomware attacks
  • Data breach feared after cyberattack on AMEOS hospitals in Germany
  • Michigan ‘ATM jackpotting’: Florida men allegedly forced machines to dispense $107K
Category: Health DataInsiderPaperTheftU.S.

Post navigation

← Hackers broke into hospitals despite software flaw warnings
MA: Former Mercer employee pleads guilty to stealing customer info →

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

  • Scattered Spider Hijacks VMware ESXi to Deploy Ransomware on Critical U.S. Infrastructure
  • Hacker group “Silent Crow” claims responsibility for cyberattack on Russia’s Aeroflot
  • AIIMS ORBO Portal Vulnerability Exposing Sensitive Organ Donor Data Discovered by Researcher
  • Two Data Breaches in Three Years: McKenzie Health
  • Scattered Spider is running a VMware ESXi hacking spree
  • BreachForums — the one that went offline in April — reappears with a new founder/owner
  • Fans React After NASCAR Confirms Ransomware Breach
  • Allianz Life says ‘majority’ of customers’ personal data stolen in cyberattack (1)
  • Infinite Services notifying employees and patients of limited ransomware attack
  • The safe place for women to talk wasn’t so safe: hackers leak 13,000 user photos and IDs from the Tea app

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

  • Congress tries to outlaw AI that jacks up prices based on what it knows about you
  • Microsoft’s controversial Recall feature is now blocked by Brave and AdGuard
  • Trump Administration Issues AI Action Plan and Series of AI Executive Orders
  • Indonesia asked to reassess data privacy terms in new U.S. trade deal
  • Meta Denies Tracking Menstrual Data in Flo Health Privacy Trial
  • Wikipedia seeks to shield contributors from UK law targeting online anonymity
  • British government reportedlu set to back down on secret iCloud backdoor after US pressure

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.