GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA / ACCESSWIRE / January 3, 2025 / AuthoraCare Collective
January 3, 2025
What Happened
On August 22, 2024, AuthoraCare became aware of technical issues related to systems in its network. Upon discovery, AuthoraCare took immediate steps to secure its network and to address and investigate the incident. AuthoraCare retained cybersecurity and privacy counsel and engaged outside IT forensic specialists (at the direction of counsel) to investigate the incident. AuthoraCare also notified law enforcement and will cooperate with their investigation.
After a thorough investigation, AuthoraCare learned that an unauthorized actor gained access to its systems between August 18-22, 2024. After a comprehensive data review, on October 21, 2024, it was determined that certain protected health data was accessed or acquired by the unauthorized actor.
What Information was Involved
The information involved included contact information (such as first and last name, address, date of birth, phone number, and email) and one or more of the following:
medical diagnosis;
prescription information;
Social Security number; and
demographic information.
Patients whose information was affected were notified starting on January 2, 2025.
What is AuthoraCare doing?
AuthoraCare takes this incident seriously and has implemented additional measures to prevent future occurrences. AuthoraCare has reported the incident to law enforcement and the Department of Health and Human Services with the Office of Civil Rights. Additionally, AuthoraCare will be offering complimentary credit monitoring and identity protection services, free of charge, to those whose Social Security numbers were impacted through CyberScout, a TransUnion company. Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact our dedicated assistance line with TransUnion at 1-833-844-9300.
What You Can Do
As a general matter, one should remain vigilant by reviewing your credit reports, financial account statements, and explanation of benefits forms for suspicious activity and to detect errors. We also remind everyone you are entitled to one free credit report annually from the each of the three major credit reporting bureaus, TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax. To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call 1-877-322-8228
You can further educate yourself regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, credit freezes, and the steps you can take to protect your personal information by contacting the credit reporting bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), or your state Attorney General. The FTC also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them. The FTC may be reached at 600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20580; www.identitytheft.gov; 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); and TTY: 1-866-653-4261.
For More Information
For any further information, please contact Paul Russ with AuthoraCare via email at paul.russ@authoracare.org.
Contact Information
Paul Russ
paul.russ@authoracare.org
SOURCE: AuthoraCare Collective
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