DataBreaches.Net

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

“Without Undue Delay,” Saturday edition: D.C.’s Planned Parenthood reports data was breached last fall

Posted on April 17, 2021 by Dissent

Brittany Renee Mayes reports:

Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, D.C., on Friday revealed it had a breach of patient information last fall.

In a notice posted to its website, the organization revealed that it found “unusual” activity on its networks on Sept. 3. At that time, it began securing its systems, started an investigation and notified law enforcement.

Read more on The Washington Post.

Note that this incident was reported to HHS on November 20, 2020 as a hacking/IT incident involving its network server, and it  was included in Protenus’s Breach Barometer figures for that month. PPMW reported that 500 patients were impacted, which suggested to this blogger that PPMW knew they likely had more than 500 impacted and just wanted to make sure that they reported the incident to HHS within the required timeframe for notification.

But apparently they did not notify patients within the 60 day window from discovery of access and exfiltration. The notification on their web site offers no explanation as to why notification was not made in November to patients instead of five months later. And while they emphasize that they have no evidence of misuse of the data, let’s be clear that their investigation found that data had been accessed and copies of documents were acquired. Those documents were described as containing patient information such as:

names, addresses, dates cof birth, medical record numbers, and/or clinical information, such as provider name(s), date(s) of service, diagnosis information, treatment information, and/or prescription information. In some instances, patients’ health insurance information, financial account information, and/or Social Security numbers were also included.

According to HHS’s breach tool, the incident is still open or under investigation.

Category: HackHealth DataU.S.

Post navigation

← Facebook faces ‘mass action’ lawsuit in Europe over 2019 breach
CH: Schaffhausen hospitals suffer major IT failures →

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

  • Copilot AI Bug Could Leak Sensitive Data via Email Prompts
  • FTC Provides Guidance on Updated Safeguards Rule
  • Sentara Health terminates remote employees after realizing they couldn’t be sure who was doing the work.
  • Hackers Break Into Car Sharing App, 8.4 Million Users Affected
  • Cyberattack pushes German napkin company into insolvency
  • WMATA Train Operators Arrested in Health Care Fraud Scheme
  • Washington Post investigating cyberattack on journalists, WSJ reports
  • Resource: State Data Breach Notification Laws – June 2025
  • WestJet investigates cyberattack disrupting internal systems
  • Plastic surgeons often store nude photos of patients with their identity information. When would we call that “negligent?”

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

  • Vermont signs Kids Code into law, faces legal challenges
  • Data Categories and Surveillance Pricing: Ferguson’s Nuanced Approach to Privacy Innovation
  • Anne Wojcicki Wins Bidding for 23andMe
  • Would you — or wouldn’t you?
  • New York passes a bill to prevent AI-fueled disasters
  • Synthetic Data and the Illusion of Privacy: Legal Risks of Using De-Identified AI Training Sets
  • States sue to block the sale of genetic data collected by DNA testing company 23andMe

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.