It’s relatively easy to identify which were the biggest breaches involving health data that were disclosed in 2016, but which of the hundreds of breaches disclosed were the worst ones if you look beyond the numbers? As in past years, we learned of devices with sensitive unencrypted health information being stolen from vehicles, paper records were found where they…
Category: Breach Incidents
NJ: Insurance agent allegedly stole clients’ identities to commit fraud
Dave Hutchinson reports: A former Union County insurance agent has been accused of receiving more than $6,000 in illegal commissions by stealing the identities of former clients and fraudulently applying for new life insurance policies with another company, Attorney General Christopher S. Porrino said Friday in a news release. […l After leaving American Income and…
Bulgarian man pleads not guilty in malware scheme
AP reports: A Bulgarian man has pleaded not guilty to federal charges in Pennsylvania that he used sophisticated malware designed to steal banking credentials and other confidential information from infected computers. The U.S. Attorney’s Office alleges that 44-year-old Krasimir Nikolov of Varna, Bulgaria, gained access to victims’ online bank accounts and transferred funds or tried…
GA: Forsyth County investigates information breach
Mark Woolsey reports: A security breach at the Forsyth County Tax Commissioners office led to the inadvertent release Social Security numbers of nearly 20,000 residents. Tax commissioner Matthew Ledbetter said in a letter to those impacted that the information was mistakenly included in a data file downloaded by two outside parties. Both had authorized access…
Fairbanks Hospital notifies patients after discovering employees could have been inappropriately accessing patient records for years (UPDATED)
Fairbanks Hospital in Indianapolis is notifying an undisclosed number of patients that employees could have been accessing protected health information of patients since at least November 2013 (and possibly earlier). The information that was accessed included current and former patients’ social security numbers, contact information, diagnosis, treatment and health insurance. In a notification dated December 16, the hospital…
OH: Henry County home health and hospice patients’ records stolen
More than 500 patients served by Henry County Health Department Home Health and Hospice are being notified after a nurse’s laptop and paperwork was stolen from her garaged car on October 22. An arrest has reportedly been made in the case, but the laptop and papers were not recovered. According to the Toledo Blade and WNWO, the laptop…