On January 13, 2024, Horne, LLP filed a notice of data breach with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights. While Horne, LLP doesn’t appear to have posted a letter describing the incident, the University of Mississippi Medical Center (“UMMC”) posted a website notice discussing the Horne data breach. In this notice, UMMC 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, clinical information, health insurance information, and medical record numbers. Upon completing its investigation, Horne 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 Horne, LLP or University of Mississippi Medical Center, 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 Horne data breach. For more information, please see our recent piece on the topic here.

What Caused the Horne Data Breach?

The Horne data breach was only recently announced, and more information is expected in the near future. However, Horne’s filing with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights and UMMC’s website notice provide some important information on what led up to the breach.

According to these sources, in December 2021, Horne identified suspicious activity within its computer network. In October 2023, Horne confirmed that certain UMMC patient data was affected as a result of the incident. Notably, the incident did not involve a breach of UMMC’s IT network, as all leaked data was stored on Horne’s systems.

After learning that sensitive consumer data was accessible to an unauthorized party, Horne 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, clinical information, health insurance information, and medical record number.

On January 13, 2024, Horne sent out data breach letters to all UMMC patients who were 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 Horne, LLP

Founded in 1962, Horne, LLP is a professional services firm based out of Ridgeland, Mississippi. Horne provides its clients with a wide range of accounting-related services, including business valuation, audit & compliance, cybersecurity, disaster recovery, marketing, and more. Horne operates more than 30 locations in 10 U.S. states. Horne employs more than 2,000 people and generates approximately $297 million in annual revenue.