Yale New Haven (Conn.) Health is facing lawsuits over a March data breach.
Here are five things to know:
1. Yale New Haven Health said March 11 it was dealing with a “cybersecurity incident” that caused some connectivity issues but did not affect patient care.
2. In April, the health system said it determined that a hacker had accessed its network and stolen patient data.
3. Two federal lawsuits were filed April 16 by Yale New Haven Health patients who said they were harmed by the data breach, the Hartford (Conn.) Business Journal reported April 17.
4. The lawsuits state that the health system failed “to properly secure and safeguard Plaintiff’s and Class Members’ sensitive personally identifiable information (PII) and personal health information (PHI), which, as a result, is now in criminal cyberthieves’ possession” and has “done nothing to provide Plaintiff and Class Members relief for the damages they have suffered as a result of the Data Breach,” according to the story.
5. Yale New Haven Health told the news outlet it “can’t comment on pending litigation” but has been “coordinating timely notification to all appropriate state and federal authorities.” “We take our responsibility to safeguard patient information incredibly seriously, and we regret any concern this incident may have caused,” a spokesperson said. “We are continuously updating and enhancing our systems to protect the data we maintain and to help prevent events such as this from occurring in the future.”
