WellStar Health System recently announced a data breach stemming from an unauthorized party gaining access to certain employee email accounts. According to the company’s most recent filing, certain patients’ protected health information was leaked as a result of the attack. On April 8, 2022, WellStar sent data breach notifications to all affected parties.

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.

On average, victims of identity theft spend 200 hours and over $1,300 recovering their identity. Many victims also suffer emotional distress, incur credit damage, discover loans taken out in their name without their knowledge, and may even end up with a criminal record for crimes they did not commit. Taking immediate action is the best way to prevent the worst consequences of a data breach.

What We Know So Far About the WellStar Health System Data Breach

According to an official filing by the company, WellStar was the target of an email phishing attack resulting in two employees providing their log-in credentials to the hacker. Once WellStar learned of the attack, the company disabled the affected email accounts and sought to determine the scope of the incident. On February 7, 2022, WellStar learned that an unauthorized party was able to access one or more employee email accounts between December 6, 2021 and January 3, 2022. The company also confirmed that certain patients’ protected health information was accessible through the affected email accounts.

Upon learning of the extent of the security breach, WellStar Health System then reviewed the affected files to determine exactly what information was compromised. While the compromised information varies based on the individual, it may include your name, medical record number, WellStar account number, and a clinical description of a laboratory test and result that was ordered by your provider.

On April 8, 2022, WellStar Health System began sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals whose information was compromised as a result of the recent data security incident.

WellStar Health System is a not-for-profit healthcare system located in Marietta, Georgia and serves the Atlanta metropolitan area. The WellStar Health System network includes 11 hospitals, 10 emergency departments, 9 cancer centers, 3 hospice facilities, and more than 300 medical office locations. WellStar Health System employs more than 25,000 people and generates approximately $3 billion in annual revenue.

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

What Are Consumers’ Remedies in the Wake of the WellStar Health Data Breach?

When customers decided to do business with WellStar Health, they assumed that the company would take their privacy concerns seriously. And it goes without saying that consumers 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 consumer data, it also accepts a legal obligation to ensure this information remains private. The United States data breach laws allow consumers to pursue civil data breach claims against organizations that fail to protect their information.

Of course, given the recency of the WellStar Health System 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 WellStar Health 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 WellStar Health System, reach out to a data breach attorney as soon as possible.

What Should You Do if You Receive a WellStar Health System Data Breach Notification?

If WellStar Health System 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 initial data breach letter issued by WellStar Health System:

Dear [Consumer],

The privacy and security of the personal information we maintain is of the utmost importance to WellStar Health System (“WellStar”). We are writing with important information regarding a recent data security incident that may have involved some of your information. We want to provide you with information about the incident and let you know that we continue to take significant measures to protect your information.

What Happened?

WellStar was the target of an email phishing attack that resulted in a limited number of employees receiving a suspicious email containing a malicious link. Two (2) employees unfortunately fell victim to the phishing attack, resulting in an unauthorized individual gaining access to those employees’ email accounts. Upon learning of the incident, WellStar disabled the impacted email accounts and required mandatory password resets to prevent further misuse.

There is no evidence that the purpose of the phishing attack was to obtain patient information and we have no evidence that any of your information was actually acquired or used by the unauthorized individual. However, out of an abundance of caution, we are providing notice to you of this incident and offering you recommendations for protecting your information.

What We Are Doing.

Upon learning of this issue, we immediately commenced a thorough investigation. As part of our investigation, we have worked very closely with external cybersecurity professionals. After a comprehensive forensic investigation and manual document review, we discovered on February 7, 2022 that one or more of the email accounts that were accessed between December 6, 2021 and January 3, 2022 contained some of your personal and/or protected health information.

Since the date of this incident, we have taken several steps to implement additional technical safeguards on our email system to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents. We have also implemented additional training and education for our employees to increase awareness of the risks of malicious emails, including how employees can identify and handle malicious emails.

What Information Was Involved.

The impacted email account(s) contained some of your protected health information, including your name, medical record number, WellStar account number unique to WellStar, and a clinical description of a laboratory test and result that was ordered by your provider. Your Social Security number and financial information were not included in the information that may have been accessed.

What You Can Do.

We have no evidence that any of your information has been misused or was impermissibly accessed. Nevertheless, out of an abundance of caution, we have chosen to make you aware of the incident. To protect against medical identity theft, we recommend that you follow these practices:

Only share your health insurance cards with your health care providers and other family members who are covered under your insurance plan or who help you with your medical care.

Review your “explanation of benefits statement” which you receive from your health insurance company. Follow up with your insurance company or care provider for any items you do not recognize. If necessary, contact the care provider on the explanation of benefits statement and ask for copies of medical records from the date of the potential access (noted above) to current date.

Ask your insurance company for a current year-to-date report of all services paid for you as a beneficiary. Follow up with your insurance company or the care provider for any items you do not recognize.

Iowa Residents: You may contact law enforcement or the Iowa Attorney General’s Office to report suspected incidents of identity Theft: Office of the Attorney General of Iowa, Consumer Protection Division, Hoover State Office Building, 1305 East Walnut Street, Des Moines, IA 50319, www.iowaattorneygeneral.gov, Telephone: 515-281-5164.

Maryland Residents: You may obtain information about avoiding identity theft from the Maryland Attorney General’s Office: Office of the Attorney General of Maryland, Consumer Protection Division, 200 St. Paul Place, Baltimore, MD 21202, www.oag.state.md.us/Consumer, Telephone: 888-743-0023.

Massachusetts Residents: Under Massachusetts law, you have the right to obtain a police report in regard to this incident. If you are the victim of identity theft, you also have the right to file a police report and obtain a copy of it.

New York Residents: You may obtain information about preventing identity theft from the New York Attorney General’s Office: Office of the Attorney General, The Capitol, Albany, NY 12224-0341; https://ag.ny.gov/consumer-frauds-bureau/ identity-theft; Telephone: 800-771-7755.

North Carolina Residents: You may obtain information about preventing identity theft from the North Carolina Attorney General’s Office: Office of the Attorney General of North Carolina, Consumer Protection Division, 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001, www.ncdoj.gov/, Telephone: 877-566-7226.

Oregon Residents: You may obtain information about preventing identity theft from the Oregon Attorney General’s Office: Oregon Department of Justice, 1162 Court Street NE, Salem, OR 97301-4096, www.doj.state.or.us/, Telephone: 877-877-9392

Washington D.C. Residents: You may obtain information about preventing identity theft from the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia, 400 6th Street NW, Washington D.C. 20001, https://oag.dc.gov/consumer-protection, Telephone: 202-442-9828.

For More Information.

Please accept our apologies that this incident occurred. We have taken necessary steps to prevent this from happening again. We remain fully committed to maintaining the privacy of personal information in our possession and have taken many precautions to safeguard it and to prevent subsequent occurrences. We continually evaluate and modify our practices to enhance the security and privacy of your personal information.

If you have any further questions regarding this incident, please call our dedicated and confidential toll-free response line that we have set up to respond to questions at [REDACTED] This response line is staffed with professionals familiar with this incident and knowledgeable on what you can do if you are concerned about potential misuse of your information. The response line is available Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. EST. (Excluding Major U.S. Holidays)