West Columbia, S.C.-based Lexington Medical Center informed patients an employee's email was hacked last year, exposing their personal information.
The hospital sent a letter Feb. 12 to affected patients. On Oct. 4, the hospital identified unauthorized activity in an employee's data drive and acted immediately to contain the incident and investigate.
Last month, the hospital's forensic investigation found "a limited number of files" on the drive that contained billing-related information, names, birth dates, health insurance IDs, patient discharge information and more. In a few cases, the letter notes, individuals' Social Security numbers were "potentially involved."
Lexington Medical Center does not have evidence the unauthorized party viewed or misused the patients' information.