Home Consumer Medical Records Data Breach Leaves Nearly One Million Seniors At Risk

Medical Records Data Breach Leaves Nearly One Million Seniors At Risk

data breach
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There isn’t a much scarier thought than having your personal information stolen. Cybercriminals are hiding around every digital corner, trying to get their hands on data they’ll use to rip us off.

Sometimes, it doesn’t even feel safe to go to the grocery store. Now, visiting the doctor could put your digital life at risk.

How your medical records could be at risk

What we’re talking about is a massive data breach that was recently discovered. A backup database belonging to the telemarketing company, HealthNow Networks, was found unsecured after being uploaded to the internet. The company provides equipment and medical supplies to patients with diabetes.

The personal information of nearly 1 million patients was left exposed online. Unprotected data included:

  • Patient names
  • Social Security numbers
  • Dates of birth
  • Physical addresses
  • Phone numbers
  • Email addresses
  • Health insurance information
  • Health condition information including medications and required equipment

The exposed database was used by HealthNow to market products to diabetic patients. As of 2015, the telemarketing company is no longer a registered business.

After the unsecured database was recently discovered, the software developer in charge of handling it deleted it. However, it’s unknown how long the data was exposed and how many cybercriminals were able to pull information from it.

Patients impacted by the breach had health insurance through Aetna, Cigna, Blue Cross Blue Shield and UnitedHealthcare.

[vc_btn title=”Continue reading” style=”outline” color=”primary” link=”url:http%3A%2F%2Fwww.komando.com%2Fhappening-now%2F396717%2Fmassive-medical-records-breach-leaves-918k-seniors-vulnerable%3Futm_medium%3Dnl%26utm_source%3Dalerts%26utm_content%3D2017-04-12-article-title|title:Continue%20reading|target:%20_blank|”][vc_message message_box_style=”3d” message_box_color=”blue”]Kim Komando, excerpt posted on SouthFloridaReporter.com, April 14, 2017[/vc_message]