UCHealth patient, provider, employee information may have been leaked in data breach

Breeanna Jent, The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
·2 min read
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Jan. 27—The personal information of some UCHealth patients, providers and employees may have been leaked in a recent data breach that targeted a software company that provides hosted services to the hospital system, officials announced Friday.

Information that may have been downloaded could include names, addresses, dates of birth and treatment-related information, states a news release from UCHealth, which operates in Colorado, southern Wyoming and western Nebraska.

"In very limited cases," Social Security numbers and banking information may also have been involved, according to the release.

"We apologize for the concern and inconvenience this data breach may cause, and we remain committed to safeguarding our patients', employees' and providers' information," UCHealth officials said.

Diligent Corp., a software company that provides business operations tools for organizations including UCHealth, experienced the data breach on its servers. The company reported its software was accessed and attachments, including UCHealth files, were downloaded.

It was unclear how many UCHealth accounts may have been compromised.

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UCHealth's systems, however, including its electronic medical record — or digital patient charts — weren't impacted, the release said.

"Though we have no reason to believe the person who took the data from Diligent's system shared or misused it in any way, we are sharing this security incident so individuals may protect themselves by watching for any suspicious activity or possible identity theft," officials said in the release.

The health system is notifying those whose information may have been compromised as state and federal reporting requirements stipulate.

Diligent has also said it took additional steps to protect its data and prevent another security attack.

Officials encourage people who have questions or need more information to call 855-624-6798 Monday through Friday between 7 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

For more information

Get more information about how to protect yourself from identity theft through the notices sent to potentially affected individuals in the mail; from the Federal Trade Commission through the Colorado Attorney General's Stop Fraud website, stopfraudcolorado.gov; or by calling 877-438-4338.

People can also contact national credit reporting agencies at:

— Equifax, 1-866-349-5191, equifax.com; P.O. Box 740241, Atlanta, GA 30374

— Experian, 1-888-397-3742, experian.com; P.O. Box 2002, Allen, TX 75013

— TransUnion, 1-800-888-4213, transunion.com; P.O. Box 2000, Chester, PA 19016

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