Breach, Data Security

3,600 patients affected by breach at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles

In mid-December a laptop belonging to a doctor working at the Children's Hospital Los Angeles and the Children's Hospital Los Angeles Medical Group was stolen.

How many victims? About 3,600 patients of the Children's Hospital Los Angeles and the Children's Hospital Los Angeles Medical Group.

What type of information? The exact type of patient information contained on the laptop is unknown, but it may have contained a child's name, date of birth, address, medical record number and some clinical information.

What happened? The laptop was stolen on October 18, 2016 from a physician's locked car. The hospital was notified of the theft on December 21 and released the information to the potential victims and the public on January 13. The hospital said there is no evidence any of the information that was stolen has been accessed or misused.

What was the response? Hospital administrators have been working with law enforcement, but the laptop has not been recovered. In addition, those potential affected have been notified and told to keep on the lookout for any malicious activity centered on the potentially lost information. The hospital is now taking preventative action by enhancing the encryption levels of all laptops containing patient information that are owned by doctors who work at the hospital.

Source: The Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles Daily News

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