Stolen Laptop Breach Affects 61,000
Device stolen from hospital employee's car The theft of an unencrypted laptop from an employee's car resulted in a breach affecting more than 61,000 patients at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.The theft from the car parked at the employee's home occurred between March 27 and 29. The information on the laptop included patient names, medical records numbers and services received, but it did not include Social Security numbers, telephone numbers or credit information.
So far, there is no evidence that information on the laptop has been used for fraudulent purposes, the hospital says. But in its notification letters to patients or their guardians, as required under the HITECH Act breach notification rule, the hospital offered one year's worth of free identity theft protection services from ID Experts.
In the wake of the incident, the hospital is taking steps to ensure all information on laptops is encrypted, and it's updating staff training on security.
