Major Security Breach Leaves Thousands of Patients Exposed
How Did It Happen?
The investigation revealed the unauthorized person who breached the system, used the login credentials of a now former Inova employee. The login credentials granted the user access to both medical and billing records. Therefore, the cyber criminal had access to data including patient names, addresses, dates of birth, and social security numbers.
Since the breach occurred, both Inova and Valley Health have tried to improve security measures. Valley Health officials have reported they will be increasing the number of monitoring tools, as well as improving staff training on password security.
Valley Health has also sent out letters to notify all potentially impacted patients of the breach. The letter also included tips on protecting their personal information, as well as an offer for free identity theft protection for those eligible.
