As a medical patient, you take your health data seriously. Not only is this critical to ensuring you can receive the most accurate care possible, but it can also help keep your private information secure. Unfortunately, when you receive a notification that the information stored by your healthcare providers has been involved in a data breach, you’ll find that it can result in a considerable number of issues. As such, it is in your best interest to connect with an experienced San Diego County medical identity theft lawyer to explore your legal options during these complicated matters.
What Is a Medical Data Breach?
A medical data breach occurs when the information stored by medical providers like doctors’ offices, hospitals, labs, and other healthcare providers is compromised by hackers. Generally, the main target of a data breach is
Unfortunately, healthcare servers are prime targets for hackers for several reasons. Patient health information is incredibly valuable on the black market, as hospitals are willing to pay exuberant amounts of money to have this information secured. As such, many hackers target these locations for a big payout.
In addition, you’ll find that, unlike office jobs, where employees may be more familiar with scams and vulnerabilities, doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals may not be as tech-savvy. As such, they may be more susceptible to hacks and unprepared to handle these matters, meaning hackers can obtain a considerable amount of information in a short time.
Finally, you’ll find that some purchase this information with the intent of using the other’s identity to get medical care or obtain health insurance benefits.
What Steps Can I Take to Protect Myself?
If you receive a notice that your patient information was involved in a data breach, it can be incredibly scary. Not only does this mean someone has access to all of your sensitive personal information to commit fraud or identity theft with, but they’ll also have your private health data. This can be incredibly unsettling, as many of these records contain information that is private between you and your provider.
However, when you are notified that your information was involved in a data breach, there are steps you can take to help protect yourself and mitigate the risks of becoming a victim of identity theft. Generally, you’ll find that one of the most important steps you can take is to contact the credit reporting agencies as soon as possible to place a fraud alert on your account. This will inform potential lenders that you have been the victim of a breach and will require them to confirm your identity before opening any accounts in your name.
Once you have placed a fraud alert on your credit report, you should update the passwords associated with all of your online accounts. After updating the login information, you should enable two-factor authentication on your accounts. This adds a layer of security to help keep unauthorized individuals out of your accounts by requiring a unique verification code even after correctly entering a username and password.
When your information is compromised due to a weak security system, it can be devastating. As such, it’s imperative to discuss your legal options with an experienced consumer defense attorney with Barthel Legal. Our team is committed to helping you navigate these difficult times to fight for the justice you deserve. When you need help, our team is here. Contact us today to learn how we can help you.
