Hacker breached Massachusetts systems’ emails for 6+ months; 200,000+ individuals affected

Worcester-based UMass Memorial Health began notifying more than 200,000 patients and health plan participants that a hacker breached employee email accounts containing their personal information, according to data the health system shared with HHS on Oct. 15.

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Hannah Mitchell

Three things to know:

  1. On Jan. 27, a hacker breached a limited number of the health system’s employee email accounts, which contained the information of 209,048 patients and health plan participants, according to UMass Memorial Health’s news release.
  2. The health system launched an investigation to determine the scope of the breach. The investigation determined the hacker accessed the accounts between June 24, 2020, and Jan. 7, 2021. The investigation was unable to determine if the hacker viewed any emails or attachments in the accounts.
  3. On Aug. 25, the health system identified which patients have been exposed and what information was contained in the email accounts. Information that was compromised includes names, Social Security numbers, medical-related information and other data.
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