Broward Health is a popular medical service provider with over 30 locations across Florida. The company receives over 60,000 admissions every year. The incident occurred in October of last year, and the company has notified the affected persons on Saturday, January 1.
Details of the Broward Health Cyber Attack
According to an official notification from the Office of the Maine Attorney General, an intruder gained access to Broward’s network and patient data on October 15. Four days later, the company discovered the breach and “contained the incident upon discovery.” It also notified authorities such as the FBI and DoJ and directed all its employees to change passwords. Consequently, it carried out an in-depth investigation with the help of an independent cybersecurity firm. The investigation revealed that the intruder had exfiltrated the personal information of 1,357,879 employees and patients. The kinds of information includes name, date of birth, home address, email address, bank information, social security number, insurance-related information, medical history, and other data, as well as their driver’s license number.
Measures Taken by Broward Health in the Aftermath of the Data Leak
As of now, Broward Health has not found any evidence of misuse of the leaked information. The company added it is taking the incident and the personal and medical information of its patrons very seriously. “In response to this incident, Broward Health is taking steps to prevent recurrence of similar incidents, which include the ongoing investigation, a password reset with enhanced security measures across the enterprise, and the implementation of multifactor authentication for all users of its systems,” Broward Health stated. “We have also begun implementation of additional minimum-security requirements for devices that are not managed by Broward Health Information Technology that access our network, which will become effective in January 2022,” it added. Furthermore, the company has offered a complimentary two-year subscription to Experian’s IdentityWorks. Broward has advised everyone affected to be on the lookout for medical identity theft. It also urged them to regularly check their financial accounts and statements.
The Dangers of Data Leaks
Identity theft is a serious problem, with more and more people affected every year. Data leaks of this kind also leave victims vulnerable to targeted phishing attacks. Details such as names, email addresses, and personal information like medical records can easily be misused. Nefarious actors use this information to send malicious emails or text messages, often impersonating banks, the government, or other legitimate services. Check out our resource to learn more about phishing and how you can protect yourself.
