On November 4, 2022, Salud Family Health (“Salud”) reported a data breach with the Montana Attorney General’s Office after the company learned that an unauthorized party was able to access sensitive employee and patient information contained on its network. According to Salud, the breach resulted in the names, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers or state identification card numbers, financial account information, credit card numbers, passport numbers, medical treatment and diagnosis information, health insurance information, biometric data, and usernames and passwords being compromised. Recently, Salud sent “Notice of Security Incident” letters to all affected parties, informing them of the incident and what they can do to protect themselves from identity theft and other frauds.

If you are among those who received a “Notice of Security Incident” letter from Salud Family Health, it means that your personal information was leaked as a result of the current breach. As we’ve discussed in previous articles, healthcare providers have been one of hackers’ favorite targets this year, in part because the information these organizations maintain is not only very valuable but also easy to use to commit a wide range of frauds. Victims of the breach may also be able to pursue a claim for compensation against the company in the event it negligently stored patient data leading up to the attack.

The Details of the Salud Family Health Breach

The available information regarding the Salud Family Health breach comes from the company’s filing with the Montana Attorney General as well as a notice posted on its website. According to these sources, on September 5, 2022, Salud detected unusual activity within its computer network. Concerned that the suspicious activity may be related to a cyberattack, the company secured its systems and began working with third-party data security specialists to investigate the incident and determine if any patient or employee information was compromised.

The company’s investigation confirmed that an unauthorized party had gained access to the Salud Family Health network. Further, the investigation revealed that the affected portion of the network contained sensitive patient and employee information.

Upon discovering that sensitive consumer data was made available to an unauthorized party, Salud Family Health began to review the affected files to determine what information was compromised and which consumers were impacted. While the breached information varies depending on the individual, it may include your name, Social Security number, driver’s license number or state identification card number, financial account information, credit card number, passport number, medical treatment and diagnosis information, health insurance information, biometric data, and username and password.

On November 4, 2022, Salud Family Health sent out data breach letters to all individuals whose information was compromised as a result of the recent data security incident.

Founded in 1970, Salud Family Health is a healthcare provider based in Fort Lupton, Colorado. The practice caters to the needs of the migrant, seasonal farmworker population living and working in and around Fort Lupton. Salud Family Health currently operates 13 clinics as well as a mobile unit in ten communities throughout northern and southeastern Colorado. In total, Salud serves more than 68,000 patients each year. Salud Family Health employs more than 715 people and generates approximately $28 million in annual revenue.