Community Health Systems faces class-action lawsuit over hacking of 4.5M patients' data

Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems is facing a putative class-action lawsuit in Alabama federal court for allegedly failing to secure its patients' data, which  allowed hackers to access the personal information of nearly 4.5 million people, according to a Law360 report.

Hackers allegedly accessed Community Health Systems' computer network and stole information of patients who were referred for or received services from CHS-affiliated physicians in the past five years.

Stolen data included names, addresses, birth dates, telephone numbers and Social Security numbers. However, no financial or clinical information was accessed.

As a result of the breach, five of CHS' former patients have filed a lawsuit in Alabama federal court on behalf of themselves and any current and former patients affected by the breach. The lawsuit includes many allegations against the health system, including that CHS breached its contracts with patients by failing to secure their personal information. The lawsuit also accuses CHS of negligence and of violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act, according to the report.

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