Pardee UNC Health Care notifies of potential data breach after recent break-in

• An internal investigation found out that a pile of 590 Federal Drug Testing Custody and Control forms from 2003 and 2004 might have been viewed during the break-in.
• The federal drug testing forms contained information related to individuals who had drug screenings performed at Pardee including names, phone numbers, dates of birth, social security numbers, results of the drug screen, employer name, and drivers license numbers.

Pardee UNC Health Care notified its community that a recent break-in in May 2019 might have led to a potential data breach.

What happened?

Attackers broke-in to the basement of Pardee UNC and stole the electronic equipment from the premises. The healthcare organization became aware of the break-in on May 9, 2019, and reported the incident to the police.

The stolen electronic equipment did not contain any hard drive. However, an internal investigation found out that a pile of 590 Federal Drug Testing Custody and Control forms from 2003 and 2004 might have been viewed during the break-in.

“Since the stack of papers was moved from another location and in view of the person(s) who entered the building and removed the electronics, we do have reason to believe that the information contained on the forms could have been viewed,” Jennifer Melia, Compliance & Privacy Officer for Pardee UNC Health Care said, Mountain Xpress reported.

What information was involved?

The federal drug testing forms contained information related to individuals who had drug screenings performed at Pardee between October 2003 and December 2004, including names, phone numbers, dates of birth, social security numbers, results of the drug screen, employer name, and drivers license numbers.

What actions were taken?

• All paper records stored in the basement of Pardee UNC building have been removed and securely stored at a new location.
• Pardee is providing training for its employees on the importance of maintaining the privacy and security of health and other personal information.
• The health care center is reviewing its record retention protocols and policies to avoid such incidents from happening in the future.
• It is requesting the impacted individuals to remain vigilant and monitor their credit.
• It is further providing one-year free credit monitoring protection services to all the potentially impacted individuals.

Pardee UNC Health Care is committed to protecting the privacy of patients’ medical information and takes this obligation very seriously,” Melia said.