Cook County Health Data Breach: What & How It Happened?
Twingate Team
•
Jun 20, 2024
In April 2023, Cook County Health (CCH) experienced a data breach involving unauthorized access to the systems of their external vendor, Perry Johnson & Associates, Inc. (PJ&A), where some CCH patient information was stored. The breach affected a significant number of patients, and CCH was informed about the incident in July 2023. The exposed information included personal details and medical information, with a smaller subset of patients having their Social Security numbers potentially compromised as well.
How many accounts were compromised?
The breach impacted data related to 1.2 million individuals.
What data was leaked?
The data exposed in the breach included names, dates of birth, addresses, medical record numbers, encounter numbers, medical information, dates and times of service, and Social Security numbers for some patients.
How was Cook County Health hacked?
The unauthorized individual gained access to Perry Johnson & Associates' systems where Cook County Health patient data was stored, but the specific methods used for infiltration remain unclear. No information about back door entry points or malware discovered on the servers has been provided.
Cook County Health's solution
In response to the data breach, Cook County Health took several measures to address the situation and protect affected patients. They terminated their relationship with Perry Johnson & Associates, stopped sharing data with the vendor, and notified impacted individuals. Cook County Health provided information on steps patients can take to protect their data, resources available to help them, and offered credit monitoring and identity protection services at no cost for those whose Social Security numbers may have been impacted. However, specific details on enhanced security protocols or collaboration with cybersecurity experts to prevent future incidents remain unclear.
How do I know if I was affected?
Cook County Health has notified patients believed to be affected by the breach. If you're a patient of Cook County Health and haven't received a notification, you may visit Have I Been Pwned to check your credentials.
What should affected users do?
In general, affected users should:
Change Your Passwords: Immediately update your passwords for any accounts that may have been affected. Make sure the new passwords are strong and unique, not previously used on any other platform.
Reset Passwords for Other Accounts: If you've used the same or similar passwords for other online accounts, reset those as well. This is crucial as attackers often try using stolen passwords on multiple sites.
Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Activate 2FA on your accounts whenever possible. Consider enabling this additional security feature on all other important online accounts to significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access.
Monitor Your Accounts: Keep an eye on your accounts for any suspicious activity and report it immediately to the respective platform or service provider.
For more specific help and instructions related to Cook County Health's data breach, please contact Cook County Health's support directly.
Where can I go to learn more?
If you want to find more information on the Cook County Health data breach, check out the following news articles:
Rapidly implement a modern Zero Trust network that is more secure and maintainable than VPNs.
Cook County Health Data Breach: What & How It Happened?
Twingate Team
•
Jun 20, 2024
In April 2023, Cook County Health (CCH) experienced a data breach involving unauthorized access to the systems of their external vendor, Perry Johnson & Associates, Inc. (PJ&A), where some CCH patient information was stored. The breach affected a significant number of patients, and CCH was informed about the incident in July 2023. The exposed information included personal details and medical information, with a smaller subset of patients having their Social Security numbers potentially compromised as well.
How many accounts were compromised?
The breach impacted data related to 1.2 million individuals.
What data was leaked?
The data exposed in the breach included names, dates of birth, addresses, medical record numbers, encounter numbers, medical information, dates and times of service, and Social Security numbers for some patients.
How was Cook County Health hacked?
The unauthorized individual gained access to Perry Johnson & Associates' systems where Cook County Health patient data was stored, but the specific methods used for infiltration remain unclear. No information about back door entry points or malware discovered on the servers has been provided.
Cook County Health's solution
In response to the data breach, Cook County Health took several measures to address the situation and protect affected patients. They terminated their relationship with Perry Johnson & Associates, stopped sharing data with the vendor, and notified impacted individuals. Cook County Health provided information on steps patients can take to protect their data, resources available to help them, and offered credit monitoring and identity protection services at no cost for those whose Social Security numbers may have been impacted. However, specific details on enhanced security protocols or collaboration with cybersecurity experts to prevent future incidents remain unclear.
How do I know if I was affected?
Cook County Health has notified patients believed to be affected by the breach. If you're a patient of Cook County Health and haven't received a notification, you may visit Have I Been Pwned to check your credentials.
What should affected users do?
In general, affected users should:
Change Your Passwords: Immediately update your passwords for any accounts that may have been affected. Make sure the new passwords are strong and unique, not previously used on any other platform.
Reset Passwords for Other Accounts: If you've used the same or similar passwords for other online accounts, reset those as well. This is crucial as attackers often try using stolen passwords on multiple sites.
Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Activate 2FA on your accounts whenever possible. Consider enabling this additional security feature on all other important online accounts to significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access.
Monitor Your Accounts: Keep an eye on your accounts for any suspicious activity and report it immediately to the respective platform or service provider.
For more specific help and instructions related to Cook County Health's data breach, please contact Cook County Health's support directly.
Where can I go to learn more?
If you want to find more information on the Cook County Health data breach, check out the following news articles:
Rapidly implement a modern Zero Trust network that is more secure and maintainable than VPNs.
Cook County Health Data Breach: What & How It Happened?
Twingate Team
•
Jun 20, 2024
In April 2023, Cook County Health (CCH) experienced a data breach involving unauthorized access to the systems of their external vendor, Perry Johnson & Associates, Inc. (PJ&A), where some CCH patient information was stored. The breach affected a significant number of patients, and CCH was informed about the incident in July 2023. The exposed information included personal details and medical information, with a smaller subset of patients having their Social Security numbers potentially compromised as well.
How many accounts were compromised?
The breach impacted data related to 1.2 million individuals.
What data was leaked?
The data exposed in the breach included names, dates of birth, addresses, medical record numbers, encounter numbers, medical information, dates and times of service, and Social Security numbers for some patients.
How was Cook County Health hacked?
The unauthorized individual gained access to Perry Johnson & Associates' systems where Cook County Health patient data was stored, but the specific methods used for infiltration remain unclear. No information about back door entry points or malware discovered on the servers has been provided.
Cook County Health's solution
In response to the data breach, Cook County Health took several measures to address the situation and protect affected patients. They terminated their relationship with Perry Johnson & Associates, stopped sharing data with the vendor, and notified impacted individuals. Cook County Health provided information on steps patients can take to protect their data, resources available to help them, and offered credit monitoring and identity protection services at no cost for those whose Social Security numbers may have been impacted. However, specific details on enhanced security protocols or collaboration with cybersecurity experts to prevent future incidents remain unclear.
How do I know if I was affected?
Cook County Health has notified patients believed to be affected by the breach. If you're a patient of Cook County Health and haven't received a notification, you may visit Have I Been Pwned to check your credentials.
What should affected users do?
In general, affected users should:
Change Your Passwords: Immediately update your passwords for any accounts that may have been affected. Make sure the new passwords are strong and unique, not previously used on any other platform.
Reset Passwords for Other Accounts: If you've used the same or similar passwords for other online accounts, reset those as well. This is crucial as attackers often try using stolen passwords on multiple sites.
Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Activate 2FA on your accounts whenever possible. Consider enabling this additional security feature on all other important online accounts to significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access.
Monitor Your Accounts: Keep an eye on your accounts for any suspicious activity and report it immediately to the respective platform or service provider.
For more specific help and instructions related to Cook County Health's data breach, please contact Cook County Health's support directly.
Where can I go to learn more?
If you want to find more information on the Cook County Health data breach, check out the following news articles:
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