Itasca County Health & Human Services

The covered entity (CE), Itasca County Health & Human Services, reported that an employee experienced an email phishing incident that affected the protected health information (PHI) of 1,413 individuals. The PHI involved included names, Social Security and drivers’ license numbers, diagnoses, lab results, medications, addresses, birthdates, and claims and other treatment information. The CE notified HHS, affected individuals, the media, and posted substitute notice on its website. In its mitigation efforts, the CE provided free credit monitoring services and created a toll-free number for questions or concerns. In addition, the CE implemented additional administrative and technical safeguards to better protect its PHI. Staff were retrained on email security.