Consumer Class Lawyers Blog
Broward Health recently announced that personally identifiable information and protected health information more than 1.3 million patients were exposed in a data breach. Broward Health, which operates health facilities in Ft. Lauderdale and throughout Broward County, Florida, disclosed in January 2022 that highly sensitive personal and medical information belonging to its patients was accessed by unauthorized individuals prior to October 2021. The information accessed by the hackers in the data breach includes, but is not limited to, patients’ names, addresses, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, Social Security numbers, financial information, insurance information, and medical information. Broward Health acknowledged that the hackers were able to exfiltrate the patients’ highly sensitive personal and medical information.
The exposure of personally identifiable information, especially names and Social Security numbers, poses a significant risk of identity theft, such as criminals opening financial accounts, taking out loans, filing fraudulent tax returns, and obtaining government services in the victim’s name. A data breach involving financial information permits thieves to make fraudulent purchases using the victim’s financial accounts. According to a recent FTC survey, the total cost of identity theft is nearly $50 billion per year, with victims losing an average of nearly $5,000 from the misuse of their personal and financial information. The exposure of protected medical information can pose an even greater danger of identity theft—such as obtaining medical services in the victim’s name, which will be charged to the victim. Continue reading