Data Breach Compromises Information of Nearly 700 Patients
A Florida hospital employee is accused of illegally distributing paperwork containing patient names, DOBs and Social Security numbers.
A data breach at Tampa General Hospital has left nearly 700 patients vulnerable to credit and identity theft. The breach happened when a hospital employee printed paperwork called “face sheets” that featured the names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers of patients scheduled for surgery between October 3, 2011 and August 7, 2014.
The employee in question was not authorized to access that information and has since been fired. Channel 10 News reports that it was Tampa Police who first alerted the hospital to the data breach after they arrested an individual unconnected to the hospital and found he had four of the face sheets with him.
Tampa General Hospital launched its own investigation and tracked through software the unauthorized access to the face sheets. The hospital has alerted the targeted patients and has also given each patient who had their social security number stolen one year of free credit monitoring.
Tampa General has reportedly taken full responsibility for the incident and says it takes information security very seriously. Every year the hospital has three outside agencies examine and test the security against similar threats.
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