Over 15K Texas hospital patients hit by data breach

More than 15,000 patients at Texas-based CHRISTUS Spohn Health System may have had their personal information compromised as a result of a May data breach, according to KIII-TV. Data potentially impacted by the breach may include patients' names, birthdates, home addresses, Social Security numbers, billing details, and insurance information, said CHRISTUS Health, which noted that the cyberattack on its network had not affected its operations. Organizations have become more susceptible to cyberattacks due to the increasing use of technological devices, noted Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Senior Associate Vice President for Information Technology Ed Evans. "It also seems like some places are experiencing multiple attacks. So maybe they remediate themselves, and then they come back and get attacked again, from the corporate perspective," Evans said. Meanwhile, Del Mar College professor David Abarca urged a proactive approach to cybersecurity following the attack. "This is one of those things where you don't want to be the weakest link in the chain of the corporation. And you're the one who didn't do what you're supposed to do on a particular day that allowed this to enter the system," Abarca added.