Incident Details
The Erie VA Medical Center apologizes for any unintended release of confidential veteran data. An issue with printing was identified regarding the accidental transmission of restricted information to another patient at the Department of Veterans Affairs in mid-November 2023. A notification was sent to 2,380 veterans from various states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, West Virginia, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and Delaware, to inform them about this incident.
Incident
How Did the Breach Happen?
An error during the printing process led to the accidental exposure of certain information to a different patient at the VA.
What Data has been Compromised?
Some patient details, like scheduling appointments and sending reminders, may have been unintentionally shared.
Why Did the company's Security Measures Fail?
The organization's breach was caused by a mistake during printing, highlighting a deficiency in both the printing and quality assurance procedures of the company.
What Immediate Impact Did the Breach Have on the company?
As a result of the security breach, the Erie VA Medical Center decided to take necessary steps to notify and safeguard individuals affected by the incident.
How could this have been prevented?
In order to avoid similar incidents, the center could introduce more rigorous quality assurance procedures for printing and ensure the appropriate management of confidential veteran data.
What have we learned from this data breach?
The incident highlights the necessity of upholding strong security procedures and putting preventive safeguards in place to safeguard confidential data.
Summary of Coverage
The Erie VA Medical Center apologizes for a printing error that may have led to a possible inadvertent exposure of some veteran data. Immediate measures were implemented to inform and safeguard those affected.