Incident Details
Welltok, a provider of healthcare software as a service (SaaS), has alerted that approximately 8.5 million patients' personal information in the United States was compromised due to a security breach. The breach occurred when a file transfer application utilized by the company was targeted in a data theft incident.
Incident
How Did the Breach Happen?
Welltok experienced a breach when a cyberattack targeted a file transfer software they were using, resulting in data being stolen.
What Data has been Compromised?
During the security breach, sensitive information of patients was compromised, which included their complete names, email addresses, home addresses, phone numbers, Social Security Numbers (SSNs), Medicare/Medicaid ID numbers, and specific Health Insurance details.
Why Did the company's Security Measures Fail?
The reason for the failure of the company's security measures is not specified in the information provided.
What Immediate Impact Did the Breach Have on the company?
A security breach has affected healthcare providers in multiple states such as Minnesota, Alabama, Kansas, North Carolina, Michigan, Nebraska, Illinois, and Massachusetts. It is estimated that 8,493,379 individuals have been affected by this incident.
How could this have been prevented?
Stronger security measures should have been put in place to safeguard the file transfer program used by Welltok in order to avoid this breach.
What have we learned from this data breach?
The significance of enforcing robust security protocols to safeguard sensitive personal information and consistently updating and fixing software to obstruct unauthorized entry is underscored by this breach of data.
Summary of Coverage
Welltok, a company that offers healthcare software as a service, recently encountered a security incident where the personal information of approximately 8.5 million U.S. patients was exposed. The breach happened when a cybercriminal hacked into a file transfer software utilized by the organization, leading to a data theft. The compromised data contained sensitive details like names, email addresses, physical addresses, phone numbers, Social Security Numbers, Medicare/Medicaid ID numbers, and health insurance data. This breach impacted healthcare providers across various states, with a confirmed total of 8,493,379 individuals affected.