On Dec. 6, Southeast Colorado Hospital District noticed suspicious activity on one of its employee email accounts and launched an investigation into the incident.
Through the investigation, the health system learned that an unauthorized party had accessed an employee’s email account and some files within its system that contained confidential patient information.
The patient information within the email included names, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, dates of birth, medical treatment or diagnosis information, and health insurance information, according to the report.
On Feb. 3, the health system notified the attorney general of Montana about the breach and began sending letters to all affected individuals.