The covered entity (CE), Heart South Cardiovascular Group experienced a ransomware attack that compromised the protected health information (PHI) of 20,577 individuals. The PHI involved included names, addresses, dates of birth, drivers’ license numbers, diagnoses, lab results, medications, health insurance information, claims and financial information, Social Security numbers, and other treatment information. The CE notified HHS, affected individuals, the media, and provided substitute notice on its website. In its mitigation efforts, the CE implemented new technical safeguards, and retrained workforce members. OCR provided technical assistance regarding the HIPAA Breach Notification Rule.
