The covered entity (CE), Sinai Health System, reported that several employees were the victims of an email phishing attack that affected the electronic protected health information (ePHI) of 11,347 individuals. The ePHI involved included names, addresses, dates of birth, drivers’ license information, Social Security numbers, diagnoses, lab results, medications prescribed, and health insurance information. The CE notified HHS, affected individuals, the media, and posted substitute notice on its website. The CE also provided affected individuals with complimentary identity protection and credit monitoring services and established a toll-free phone number for questions or concerns. In response to the breach, the CE revised its privacy and cybersecurity policies and procedures and retrained its staff on the proper methods of recognizing and responding to fraudulent email communications. In addition, the CE implemented additional administrative, technical, and security safeguards to better protect its ePHI. OCR obtained assurances that the CE implemented the corrective actions noted.
