Breach, Threat Management, Data Security

Employee fired for stealing external hard drive containing patient data

A external hard drive containing personal medical information on thousands of patients was stolen by a former employee of the North Texas Comprehensive Spine and Pain Center in Sherman.

How many victims? Roughly 3,000.

What type of personal information? Names, home addresses, birth dates, Social Security numbers and diagnosis records.

What happened? The drive was stolen from a doctor's office.

What was the response? The clinic notified police, who began an investigation. The employee responsible for the theft was fired. Patients were notified of the incident. Patients are being asked to monitor their accounts and credit reports for possible fraud.

Details: The police opened an investigation in June after the theft was reported. So far, there is no evidence that any data on the drive was used improperly.

Source: KTEN News, kten.com, “Disk drive with patient records disappears In Sherman,” Aug. 14, 2013.

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