Personal information of around 16,000 people could be in the hands of the hacker due to a cyber-attack on UnityPoint Health, a network of hospitals, clinics and home care services in Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin. People who were affected through this cyber-attack were sent a letter on Monday and in the letter there was a statement from UnityPoint Health that read:
“To date, we are not aware of any reports of identity fraud, theft, or improper use of information as a direct result of this incident. However, we want to make impacted individuals aware of the situation so they can take precautionary measures to protect their health information.”
On February 15th, UnityPoint Health staff found out that they were a victim of a phishing attack which compromised email accounts of employees. The staff were quick to act and immediately changed their passwords and brought the potentially compromised data to be analyzed by cyber-security professionals.
Personal information which included dates of births, medical record numbers, surgical information, diagnosis, lab results, insurance information, treatment information and medication may have been uncovered.
A small number of individuals even had their social security number and other financial information compromised as well.
UnityPoint Health has advised people to only share their health insurance card with their health care providers or family members who are covered under your insurance plan. They have also asked them to review their “explanation of benefits statement” that they receive from their health insurance company.
They also advised the affected patients, “Ask your insurance company for a current year-to-date report of all services paid for you as a beneficiary. Follow up with your insurance company or the care provider for any items you do not recognize.”
UnityPoint Health offered this apology saying, “UnityPoint Health is committed to protecting your information and has taken steps to help prevent a similar event from taking place in the future. We are continually evaluating and modifying our security practices to further strengthen the protections for your personal and health information.”
UnityPoint Health claims that if you have been affected through this cyber-attack and want help or if you want to know if you are at risk then you can call their “dedicated and confidential toll-free response line at 855-331-3612.”
They further added, “ This response line is staffed by professionals familiar with this incident and knowledgeable about what you can do to help protect against misuse of your information.”
Source: NBC 15
