DataBreaches.Net

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

Med-Data data leak $7M class action settlement

Posted on March 21, 2024 by Dissent

There is an update to a data leak incident discovered and reported by independent researcher Jelle Ursem and DataBreaches.net in April 2021.  Top Class Actions reports that Med-Data, a business associate that handles health insurance claims data, has agreed to pay $7 million to resolve claims that one of its employees publicly posted patient information on GitHub in 2018 and 2019 and that Med-Data failed to timely notify those affected once they learned of the leak.

As reported previously, Ursem discovered the exposed data on GitHub in 2020, but attempts to engage in responsible disclosure initially failed multiple times, with Med-Data even blocking him on LinkedIn and failing to respond to DataBreaches.net. Eventually, a call to their lawyer got them to take our messages seriously.  The exposed data included patients’ names, in combination with one or more of the following data elements: physical address, date of birth, Social Security number, diagnosis, condition, claim information, date of service, subscriber ID (subscriber IDs may be Social Security numbers), medical procedure codes, provider name, and health insurance policy number.

Med-Data’s attempt to clean up their mess hit an unusual obstacle, though: some of the data may have wound up in the Arctic Code Vault.

The incident was reported to HHS in April 2021 by MedData as affecting 135,908 patients.  HHS’s note on the incident states:

MedData Incorporated, the business associate (BA), reported that an employee inadvertently published the protected health information (PHI) of 135,908 individuals via the Internet. The PHI involved included names, addresses, birthdates, Social Security numbers, diagnoses/conditions, lab results, medications prescribed, and claims and other treatment information. The BA notified HHS, affected individuals, the media, and posted substitute notice on its website. In response to the breach, the BA implemented additional administrative and technical safeguards to better protect PHI.

MedData is now part of ElevatePFS.

The settlement applies to M.S., et al. v. Med-Data Inc., Case No. 4:22-cv-00187, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.  Other litigation against Med-Data over the leak had been dismissed by a Kansas federal court who found plaintiffs had not established standing.

Details of the settlement can be found at MedDataSettlement.com.

Category: BlogCommentaries and AnalysesExposureHealth Data

Post navigation

← Russian Intelligence Targets Victims Worldwide in Rapid-Fire Cyberattacks
AHA seeks guidance on reporting breaches linked to Change cyberattack →

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

  • Comstar LLC agrees to corrective action plan and fine to settle HHS OCR charges
  • Australian ransomware victims now must tell the government if they pay up
  • U.S. Sanctions Cloud Provider ‘Funnull’ as Top Source of ‘Pig Butchering’ Scams
  • Victoria’s Secret takes down website after security incident
  • U.S. Government Employee Arrested for Attempting to Provide Classified Information to Foreign Government
  • St. Cloud Provides Update on Ransomware Attack in 2024
  • Bradford Health Systems detected abnormal network activity in December 2023. They first sent out breach notices this week.
  • Websites selling hacking tools to cybercriminals seized
  • ConnectWise suspects cyberattack affecting some ScreenConnect customers was state-sponsored
  • Possible ransomware attack disrupts Maine and New Hampshire Covenant Health locations

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

  • Why AI May Be Listening In on Your Next Doctor’s Appointment
  • Watch out for activist judges trying to deprive us of our rights to safe reproductive healthcare
  • Nebraska Bans Minor Social Media Accounts Without Parental Consent
  • Trump Taps Palantir to Compile Data on Americans
  • The US Is Storing Migrant Children’s DNA in a Criminal Database
  • Home Pregnancy Test Company Wins Dismissal of Pixel Wiretapping Suit
  • The CCPA emerges as a new legal battleground for web tracking litigation

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.