The strangers’ records Mr. Newton received included sensitive information such as names, telephone numbers, diagnoses and medical test results, although they did not contain addresses or Social Security numbers, according to a Fox5 Atlanta report.
In a statement to the news outlet, the VA responded, “The Atlanta V.A. Medical Center places the highest priority on protecting the privacy of veterans. When issues occur in our system, we conduct reviews to identify, correct and work to prevent additional risk.”
Mr. Newton told Fox 5 Atlanta he is worried that others in line with him at the medical center may have accidentally received his own records, and he plans to seek advice from his attorney on how to return the files to a person of authority from the medical center.
More articles on data breaches:
Hackers breach 9,000 DHS employees, say FBI is next
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Babies have data, too, and it can be compromised — OHSU neonatal ICU announces breach
