UMC: Patient info leaks likely date back to July

[InfoSec News <alerts () infosecnews org>]

http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2010/jan/25/umc-patient-info-leaks-likely-date-back-july/

By Marshall Allen 
Las Vegas Sun
Jan. 25, 2010

For more than three months someone at University Medical Center 
illegally leaked the personal information of traffic accident victims - 
a breach of social security numbers, birth dates and more that only 
stopped when the Las Vegas Sun contacted the hospital about it, 
according to a statement released today by UMC.

The Sun contacted the hospital Nov. 19 about the leak of "face sheets," 
the cover sheet that contains personal information about each case. 
That's the day the leak stopped, hospital officials said in a statement 
said.

When the Sun talked on Nov. 19 to Kathy Silver, the hospital.s chief 
executive, she said it was unlikely that there was a breach of private 
patient information. She had heard rumors of a leak during the summer, 
but a cursory investigation she conducted had revealed nothing, she 
said.

"I thought it was a nonissue," Silver said at the time.

That's when the Sun told her that it had 21 UMC face sheets from Oct. 31 
and Nov. 1 traffic accident victims, verifying the leak.

"Wow," Silver said.

In today's announcement, the hospital says it now believes that the face 
sheets were being released since July 30.

[...]


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