On August 9, 2024, Dental Specialists of Minnesota, PLLC d/b/a The Dental Specialists filed a notice of data breach with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights after discovering that an unauthorized party was able to access an employee’s email account. In this notice, Dental Specialists explains that the incident resulted in an unauthorized party being able to access consumers’ sensitive information, which includes their names, medical information, health insurance information, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, and financial account information. Upon completing its investigation, Dental Specialists began sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals whose information was affected by the recent data security incident.

If you receive a data breach notification from Dental Specialists of Minnesota, PLLC, 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 Dental Specialists data breach. For more information, please see our recent piece on the topic here.

What Caused the Dental Specialists Data Breach?

The Dental Specialists data breach was only recently announced, and more information is expected in the near future. However, Dental Specialists’ filing with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights provides some important information on what led up to the breach. Dental Specialists also posted a website notice discussing the incident.

According to these sources, on January 23, 2024, the Dental Specialists learned that an unauthorized party may have been able to access several employee email accounts. In response, the Dental Specialists secured the affected accounts and then launched an investigation with the help of third-party cybersecurity experts.

Through this investigation, the Dental Specialists confirmed that there was an unauthorized access to certain employee email accounts between January 11, 2024 and January 23, 2024. Further, the investigation confirmed that the unauthorized party potentially viewed or accessed information stored within the email accounts.

After learning that sensitive consumer data was accessible to an unauthorized party, Dental Specialists reviewed the compromised files to determine what information was leaked and which consumers were impacted. Dental Specialists completed this process on June 10, 2024. While the breached information varies depending on the individual, it may include your name, medical information, health insurance information, date of birth, Social Security number, driver’s license number, and financial account information.

On August 9, 2024, Dental Specialists 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 Dental Specialists of Minnesota, PLLC

Dental Specialists of Minnesota, PLLC is a dental practice based out of Edina, Minnesota. The Dental Specialists provides a range of dental services, including endodontics, oral surgery, orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics, and prosthodontics. The Dental Specialists operates more than a dozen locations throughout the Twin Cities. Dental Specialists employs more than 108 people and generates approximately $24 million in annual revenue.