On July 18, 2023, Henry Ford Health System posted a notice of data breach on its website after discovering that a successful email phishing scheme resulted in an estimated 168,000 patients’ confidential information being exposed. In this notice, Henry Ford Health explains that the incident resulted in an unauthorized party being able to access patients’ sensitive information, which includes their names, genders, dates of birth, ages, lab results, telephone number, and protected health information. Upon completing its investigation, Henry Ford Health 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 Henry Ford Health System, it is essential you understand what is at risk and what you can do about it. As a healthcare provider, Henry Ford Health possesses a vast amount of data about each of its patients. Data that, now, may be in the hands of hackers and other criminals. This necessarily exposes you to an increased risk of identity theft and other frauds. 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 Henry Ford Health data breach. For more information, please see our recent piece on the topic here.
What Caused the Henry Ford Health Breach?
The Henry Ford Health data breach was only recently announced, and more information is expected in the near future. However, the recently added notice on Henry Ford Health’s website provides some important information on what led up to the breach. According to this source, on March 30, 2023, Henry Ford Health learned that some of the company’s employees were victims of a targeted email phishing campaign. In response, Henry Ford Health launched an investigation to determine what happened and what information may have been compromised.
Through its investigation, Henry Ford Health was able to confirm that, on May 16, 2023, certain patients’ protected health information could have been accessed by an unauthorized party.
After learning that sensitive patient data was accessible to an unauthorized party, Henry Ford Health reviewed the compromised files to determine what information was leaked and which patients were impacted. While the breached information varies depending on the individual, it may include your name, gender, date of birth, age, lab results, procedure type, diagnosis, date of service, telephone number, medical record number and internal tracking number.
On July 18, 2023, Henry Ford Health 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 which information of theirs was compromised.
More Information About Henry Ford Health System
Established in 1915, Henry Ford Health System is a healthcare system headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. Henry Ford Health operates dozens of hospitals, clinics, emergency rooms, and physician’s offices in the Detroit metropolitan area. Some of Henry Ford Health System’s largest hospitals include Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital, Henry Ford Allegiance Health, Naruvi Hospital, Henry Ford Macomb Hospital, Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital, Henry Ford Kingswood Hospital and Henry Ford Hospital. Henry Ford Health System employs more than 33,000 people and generates approximately $3.7 billion in annual revenue.
