On January 31, 2024, Prospect Medical Holdings, Inc. (“Prospect Medical”) filed a notice of data on behalf of Aquent after discovering that an unauthorized party was able to access Prospect Medicals’ IT network. In this notice, Prospect Medical explains that the incident resulted in an unauthorized party being able to access consumers’ sensitive information, which includes their names, Social Security numbers, addresses, dates of birth, diagnoses, lab results, medications, and other treatment information, health insurance information, dates of treatment, and financial information. Upon completing its investigation, Prospect Medical began sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals whose information was affected by the recent data security incident.

If you received a data breach notification from Prospect Medical Holdings, Inc., it is essential you understand what is at risk and what you can do about it. A data breach lawyer can help you learn more about how to protect yourself from becoming a victim of fraud or identity theft, as well as discuss your legal options following the Prospect Medical Holdings data breach. For more information, please see our recent piece on the topic here.

What Caused the Data Breach Affecting Aquent?

The Prospect Medical Holdings / Aquent data breach was only recently announced, and more information is expected in the near future. However, Prospect Medical’s filing with the Attorney General of Massachusetts provides some important information on what led up to the breach.

According to this source, Prospect Medical and its subsidiaries, including Prospect Medical Systems, LLC, provide administrative services to CIGNA on behalf of Aquent. On August 1, 2023, Prospect Medical identified unusual activity within its computer network. In response, Prospect Medical took steps to contain the incident and launched an investigation.

The Prospect Medical investigation determined that an unauthorized party was able to access Prospect Medical’s computer network between July 31, 2023 and August 3, 2023. During this time, an unauthorized party accessed and acquired files containing confidential information belonging to members of certain CIGNA health plans. Prospect Medical, through a subsidiary, provides administrative services for healthcare providers who contract with CIGNA, which is how Prospect Medical came to possess CIGNA customer data. On September 29, 2023, Prospect notified CIGNA about the breach.

While the nature of this breach is confusing, it appears that CIGNA provided customer information to Aquent, which then provided the information to Prospect Medical. At no time did hackers gain access to CIGNA’s or Aquent’s computer network, as hackers were able to obtain the information by attacking Prospect Medical’s network.

After learning that sensitive consumer data was accessible to an unauthorized party, Prospect Medical Holdings reviewed the compromised files to determine what information was leaked and which consumers were impacted. While the breached information varies depending on the individual, it may include your name, Social Security number, address, date of birth, diagnosis, lab results, medications, and other treatment information, health insurance information, dates of treatment, and financial information.

On January 31, 2024, Prospect Medical Holdings sent out data breach letters to anyone who was affected by the recent data security incident. These letters should provide victims with a list of what information belonging to them was compromised.

More Information About Prospect Medical Holdings, Inc.

Founded in 1996, Prospect Medical Holdings is a holding company based in Los Angeles, California. Prospect Medical operates a network of 16 hospitals in California, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Rhode Island, as well as a network of over 165 healthcare facilities. Prospect Medical Holdings employs more than 18,000 people and generates approximately $1.9 billion in annual revenue.