437,329 Americans Hit by Massive Data Breach – Customer’s Names, Addresses, Social Security Numbers, Medical Records and More at Risk

A large private healthcare system in the US has been breached, leaking the personal information of hundreds of thousands of Americans.

According to a bulletin from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights, which reports breaches of unsecured protected health information affecting 500 people or more, the Missouri-based healthcare company Ascension has been hit by a “hacking/IT” incident.

Ascension says 437,329 people are affected, and a letter that’s being sent to clients says the firm “inadvertently disclosed information” to a former third-party business partner, and the information was most likely stolen due a software vulnerability.

Ascenion says an investigation determined that its clients’ names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, dates of birth, race, gender, and Social Security numbers (SSN), as well as clinical information related to inpatient visits, such as place of service, physician name, admission and discharge dates, diagnosis and billing codes, medical record numbers, and insurance company name, may have all been exposed, depending on the individual.

The company has not addressed whether the compromised information had been used by bad actors.

However, in the governent’s alert, the Ascension hack was reported to have affected 437,329 victims.

For now, Ascension is offering its clients two years of complimentary identity monitoring services, and urges vigilance against fraud.

“We regret any inconvenience this incident may cause and are providing you with information about steps you can take to help protect your information. We encourage you to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud, review your account statements, and monitor your credit reports for suspicious activity.”

 

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