On July 14, 2023, Wake Family Eye Care filed a notice of data breach with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights after discovering that a recent ransomware attack compromised confidential patient information. In this notice, Wake Family Eye Care explains that the incident resulted in an unauthorized party being able to access patients’ sensitive information, which includes their names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, passport numbers, other government-issued ID numbers, insurance numbers, optical images, chart numbers, and related eye records. Upon completing its investigation, Wake Family Eye Care 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 Wake Family Eye Care, 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 Wake Family Eye Care data breach. For more information, please see our recent piece on the topic here.

What Caused the Wake Family Eye Care Breach?

The Wake Family Eye Care data breach was only recently announced, and more information is expected in the near future. However, Wake Family Eye Care’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 2, 2023, Wake Family Eye Care learned that it was the target of a ransomware attack after some of the company’s computer systems were encrypted. In response, Wake Family Eye Care stopped the attack, secured all affected accounts, and shut down its servers and workstations. Then, the practice launched an investigation into the incident with the assistance of third-party cybersecurity specialists.

The Wake Family Eye Care investigation confirmed that an unauthorized party was able to access certain files on its system that contained confidential patient information.

After learning that sensitive patient data was accessible to an unauthorized party, Wake Family Eye Care 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, address, date of birth, Social Security Number, driver’s license number, passport number, other government-issued ID number, insurance number, optical images, chart number, and related eye records.

On July 14, 2023, Wake Family Eye Care 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 Wake Family Eye Care

Founded in 2014, Wake Family Eye Care is an optometrist practice based in Cary, North Carolina. The practice performs a range of services to patients in and around Cary, including routine eye exams, emergency eye care, and dry eye therapy. Wake Family Eye Care also treats a variety of common eye-related issues, including age-related macular degeneration, cataracts, keratoconus, conjunctivitis and glaucoma. Wake Family Eye Care employs more than 25 people and generates approximately $5 million in annual revenue.