Recently, Cytometry Specialists, Inc. d/b/a CSI Laboratories (“CSI” “CSI Labs”) confirmed the company was the victim of a cyberattack, leading to certain patient information being compromised.

If you received a data breach notification, it is essential you understand what is at risk. More about our investigation into this breach, and what you can do if your data was stolen, is available here.

Last year, 1,862 data breaches affected more than 189 million people. On average, victims of identity theft spend 200 hours and over $1,300 recovering their identity. Many victims also suffer emotional distress, credit damage, and may even end up with a criminal record. Taking immediate action is the best way to prevent the worst consequences of a data breach.

What We Know So Far About the Cytometry Specialists Data Breach

According to a notice posted on the company’s website, on February 12, 2022, Cytometry Labs discovered it was the recent target of a cyberattack. In response, the company secured its systems and opened an investigation into the incident. On February 25, 2022, Cytometry Labs confirmed that an unauthorized party was able to obtain certain files from the company’s computer systems, including some documents containing patient information.

Upon learning of the extent of the security breach, Cytometry Specialists then reviewed the affected files to determine what information was compromised. While the compromised information varies based on the consumer, it may include your name, date of birth, address, medical record number, health insurance information, and case number, which is a unique identifier used in lieu of your name to identify a testing sample.

In the future, Cytometry Specialists may send out data breach notification letters to all individuals whose information was compromised as a result of the recent data security incident.

Founded in 1998, Cytometry Specialists, Inc. is a national cancer testing laboratory based in Alpharetta, Georgia. The company, which does business under the name Cytometry Laboratories or CSI Labs, performs a wide range of cancer diagnostic tests including genetics, histology, and molecular diagnostics. In 2019, CSI opened a second lab in Jupiter, FL. In 2021, Cytometry Specialists was acquired by Fulgent Genetics.

More About the Causes and Risks of Data Breaches

Often, data breaches are the result of a hacker gaining unauthorized access to a company’s computer systems with the intention of obtaining sensitive consumer information. While no one can know the reason why a hacker targeted CSI, it is common for hackers and other criminals to identify those companies believed to have weak data security systems or vulnerabilities in their networks.

Once a cybercriminal gains access to a computer network, they can then access and remove any data stored on the compromised servers. While in most cases a company experiencing a data breach can identify which files were accessible, there may be no way for the company to tell which files the hacker actually accessed or whether they removed any data.

While the fact that your information was compromised in a data breach does not necessarily mean it will be used for criminal purposes, being the victim of a data breach puts your sensitive data in the hands of an unauthorized person. As a result, you are at an increased risk of identity theft and other frauds, and criminal use of your information is a possibility that should not be ignored.

Given this reality, individuals who receive a Cytometry Specialists data breach notification should take the situation seriously and remain vigilant in checking for any signs of unauthorized activity. Businesses like CSI are responsible for protecting the consumer data in their possession. If evidence emerges that CSI failed to adequately protect your sensitive information, you may be eligible for financial compensation through a data breach lawsuit.

What Are Patients’ Remedies in the Wake of the CSI Data Breach?

When patients trusted CSI with their sensitive health information, they assumed that the company would take their privacy concerns seriously. And it goes without saying that patients would think twice before giving a company access to their information if they knew it wasn’t going to be secure. Thus, data breaches such as this one raise questions about the adequacy of a company’s data security system.

When a business, government entity, non-profit organization, school, or any other organization accepts and stores patient data, it also accepts a legal obligation to ensure this information remains private. The United States data breach laws allow patients to pursue civil data breach claims against organizations that fail to protect their information.

Of course, given the recency of the Cytometry Specialists data breach, the investigation into the incident is still in its early stages. And, as of right now, there is not yet any evidence suggesting CSI is legally responsible for the breach. However, that could change as additional information about the breach and its causes is revealed.

If you have questions about your ability to bring a data breach class action lawsuit against Cytometry Specialists, reach out to a data breach attorney as soon as possible.

What Should You Do if You Receive a Cytometry Specialists Data Breach Notification?

If Cytometry Specialists sends you a data breach notification letter, you are among those whose information was compromised in the recent breach. While this isn’t a time to panic, the situation warrants your attention. Below are a few important steps you can take to protect yourself from identity theft and other fraudulent activity:

1. Identify What Information Was Compromised: The first thing to do after learning of a data breach is to carefully review the data breach letter sent. The letter will tell you what information of yours was accessible to the unauthorized party. Be sure to make a copy of the letter and keep it for your records. If you have trouble understanding the letter or what steps you can take to protect yourself, a data breach lawyer can help.

2. Limit Future Access to Your Accounts: Once you determine what information of yours was affected by the breach, the safest play is to assume that the hacker orchestrating the attack stole your data. While this may not be the case, it’s better to be safe than sorry. To prevent future access to your accounts, you should change all passwords and security questions for any online account. This includes online banking accounts, credit card accounts, online shopping accounts, and any other account containing your personal information. You should also consider changing your social media account passwords and setting up multi-factor authentication where it is available.

3. Protect Your Credit and Your Financial Accounts: After a data breach, companies often provide affected parties with free credit monitoring services. Signing up for the free credit monitoring offers some significant protections and doesn’t impact any of your rights to pursue a data breach lawsuit against the company if it turns out they were legally responsible for the breach. You should contact a credit bureau to request a copy of your credit report—even if you do not notice any signs of fraud or unauthorized activity. Adding a fraud alert to your account will provide you with additional protection.

4. Consider Implementing a Credit Freeze: A credit freeze prevents anyone from accessing your credit report. Credit freezes are free and stay in effect until you remove them. Once a credit freeze is in place, you can temporarily lift the freeze if you need to apply for any type of credit. While placing a credit freeze on your accounts may seem like overkill, given the risks involved, it’s justified. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center (“ITRC”), placing a credit freeze on your account is the “single most effective way to prevent a new credit/financial account from being opened.” However, just 3% of data breach victims place a freeze on their accounts.

5. Regularly Monitor Your Credit Report and Financial Accounts: Protecting yourself in the wake of a data breach requires an ongoing effort on your part. You should regularly check your credit report and all financial account statements, looking for any signs of unauthorized activity or fraud. You should also call your banks and credit card companies to report the fact that your information was compromised in a data breach.

Below is a copy of the data breach notification posted on the Cytometry Specialists, Inc. website:

Dear [Consumer],

On February 12, 2022, Cytometry Specialists, Inc. d/b/a CSI Laboratories (“CSI”) learned of a cyberattack that partially disrupted CSI’s information systems.

Upon learning of the incident, we immediately took steps to isolate and secure our systems and investigate the incident. As part of the investigation, on February 25, 2022, we determined that an unauthorized intruder acquired certain files from our systems, including documents that may have contained patient information. Since that time, we have been analyzing impacted files to understand what information may be at risk, identify affected individuals and obtain contact information, and working to provide notice to individuals and authorities, as applicable.

Some of the impacted files contained very limited patient information, such as case number, which is a unique identifier used instead of a patient’s name to identify a sample. Some impacted files contained more information, including patient name, date of birth, address, medical record number and health insurance information. None of the files contained social security number or financial account information. At this time, we have no facts suggesting that any of the information has been further used and in some cases, it will be very difficult, if not impossible, for anyone to further use the information that was accessed.

We have engaged a well-known forensic investigation firm to identify the scope of the incident and assist using with securing our systems and data. We have carefully brought our systems back online and we continue to closely monitor our network and information systems for unusual activity. We will continue to further improve security across our company networks and protect from unauthorized access or similar criminal activity in the future.

Please call 1-833-903-3648 for assistance with any questions you may have. Representatives are available Monday through Friday from 9 am – 9 pm Eastern Time.