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Texas Health Resources' patient information possibly compromised in data breach

Texas Health Resources' patient information possibly compromised in data breach

Texas Health Services, a nonprofit healthcare delivery system in North Central Texas, has been targeted by hackers who managed to gain access to confidential patient information. The organization has disclosed that its system was breached by attackers in October 2017 after some of its email accounts were compromised.

In an online notification released through its Texas Health Physicians Group, THR said the breach did not affect all of its patients, but primarily impacted patients who received care and treatment in 2017.

Compromised patient information include patient names, medical record numbers, dates of birth, addresses, insurance information, clinical information and, in some cases, Social Security numbers, driver's licenses and state identification numbers. The healthcare service said there is currently no indication that the information has been misused in any way so far.

THR said it was only informed of the breach by law officials on January 17, 2018 and were requested not to disclose any information to affected patients regarding the incident while the investigation was underway.

"We respected law enforcement's request and began our own internal investigation, including hiring a leading forensic firm to assist us," THR stated. The agency began mailing patients regarding the breach on April 13. Individuals whose Social Security numbers were compromised in the breach have been offered one year of free credit monitoring.

"We deeply regret any inconvenience or concern this may cause our patients," THR said. "To help prevent something like this from happening in the future, Texas Health is continuously working to implement safeguards and enhance information security monitoring."

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