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.

Related posts:

  • Good Luck Explaining to HHS Why Your PHI is in GitHub’s Vault for the Next 1,000 Years
  • TeamGhostShell posts “master list” of 548 leaks (so far)
  • Pysa shuttered its leak site before it ever dumped data from more than half a dozen schools. Here’s what we know so far.
  • Federal Court Dismisses Data Breach Litigation
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

  • 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
  • British national “IntelBroker” charged with causing $25 million in damages; U.S. seeks his extradition from France
  • France issues press statement about arrest of ShinyHunters members
  • Patients Allege Home Delivery Pharmacy Failed to Timely Notify Them of Data Breach
  • Hackers breach Norwegian dam, open valve at full capacity

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

  • Microsoft’s Departing Privacy Chief Calls for Regulator Outreach
  • Nestle USA Settles Suit Over Job-Application Medical Questions
  • NY Attorney General James Affirms Hospitals Must Provide Access to Emergency Abortion Care
  • How Internet of Things devices affect your privacy – even when they’re not yours
  • Sky Views Personal Data as a Potential Weapon in IPTV Piracy War
  • Florida Used a Nationwide Surveillance Camera Network 250 Times To Aid in Immigration Arrests
  • Federal Court Strikes Down HIPAA Reproductive Health Care Privacy Rule

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.