Pennsylvania Healthcare System Suffers Massive Data Breach

Keystone Health is a Pennsylvania-based healthcare system that employs over 500 people. The company recently suffered a data breach that affected over 200,000 individuals. It immediately started an investigation and did everything in its power to help ensure the safety of its customers.

How Did the Attack Occur?

The company noticed the cyber attack when a glitch caused Keystone Health’s systems to go offline temporarily. The company immediately notified the authorities and began to work with a cybersecurity firm to investigate if any patient data was affected or stolen. After the investigation yielded astounding results, the company alerted the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights and posted a notice on its website.

What Information Was Viewed or Stolen?

“Our investigation found that an unauthorized party accessed files within our system between July 28, 2022 and August 19, 2022,” Keystone stated on its website. “Some of those files contained patient information, including names, Social Security numbers, and clinical information.” This causes mounting concern for patients and their families. The attacker can easily victimize these people with the stolen data, so people have every right to worry.

How Did Keystone Health Admit to the Breach?

The company began to send out notification letters to the affected individuals on October 14, 2022. The letters contained insight into the breach that affected the victim. The notifications stated, “While we have a robust information security system in place, unfortunately, no system is perfect, and we recently identified and addressed a cybersecurity incident.” Keystone also posted a notice on its website so fewer customers would be surprised by the letters.

What Will Become of the Stolen Information?

With things such as social security numbers (SSNs), names, and clinical information, there are a lot of things that the hacker can do. With SSNs, the hacker can access banking, retirement funds, data, and other financial information. With the names, the attacker can do things as simple as look the victims up and easily find where they live or work, thus opening a proverbial door and making it easier to target, scam, or harass them. Clinical information may have included things like insurance or medication data, which means the hacker can pose as you to a pharmacist or insurance company and steal your medication or even use your insurance.

What Should Affected Parties Do in the Aftermath of the Breach?

After a data breach of this magnitude, it may seem as if there are no steps to take to protect yourself. That’s not true at all! It’s easy to download protective software and monitor your credit and credit card reports. Keystone also offered free credit monitoring to eligible victims and a hotline for affected individuals. “If you believe you may be affected but do not receive a letter by November 14, 2022, please contact our toll-free dedicated external call center at (855) 532-1263, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, excluding major U.S. holidays,” the website said.