On July 30, 2024, Special Health Resources of Texas, Inc. (“SHRT”) 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 portions of SHRT’s systems. In this notice, SHRT explains that the incident resulted in an unauthorized party being able to access consumers’ sensitive information, which includes their names, protected health information, and Social Security numbers. Upon completing its investigation, SHRT 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 Special Health Resources of Texas, Inc., 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 Special Health Resources of Texas data breach. For more information, please see our recent piece on the topic here.

What Caused the Special Health Resources of Texas Data Breach?

The Special Health Resources of Texas data breach was only recently announced, and more information is expected in the near future. However, SHRT’s 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. According to this source, on June 1, 2024, SHRT detected what the organization believed to be a data security incident.

In response, SHRT secured its systems, and then launched an investigation with the help of external cybersecurity experts. While this investigation was ongoing as of July 1, 2023, SHRT believes that the incident involved an unauthorized party gaining access to its IT network. Specifically, the portions of the SHRT system that were accessible to the unauthorized party appear to have contained confidential patient information.

After learning that sensitive consumer data was accessible to an unauthorized party, Special Health Resources of Texas reviewed the compromised files to determine what information was leaked and which consumers were impacted. This review is ongoing, but at this point, SHRT believes that the leaked data may include a patient’s name, protected health information, and Social Security number.

On July 30, 2024, Special Health Resources of Texas 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 Special Health Resources of Texas, Inc.

Special Health Resources of Texas, Inc. is a healthcare system based out of Longview, Texas. SHRT operates a variety of healthcare providers in 23 counties of East Texas as well as in one county in Southwest Arkansas. Most of SHRT’s locations are in or around Longview, Tyler, Paris, Jacksonville, and Texarkana, TX. Special Health Resources of Texas employs more than 115 people and generates approximately $24 million in annual revenue.