A massive
data breach at a hospital in Hartford, Connecticut, has resulted in the unencrypted information of more than 9,500 people being exposed because of a stolen laptop.
The computer, which was taken from a third-party vendor doing business with Hartford Hospital, contained a trove of personal information on the victims, according to a report from the state's
Attorney General office. It included the names, addresses, dates of birth,
marital status, Social Security Numbers, Medicaid and Medicare numbers, record numbers and other medical data for 2,097 Hartford Hospital and 7,461 VNA Healthcare patients.
"I am very concerned about the number of records and the nature of the personal information that was lost," Attorney General George Jepsen said. "It is important to learn why records of this kind were stored in unencrypted files on a personal laptop and whether any additional information may be at risk."
Ondrej Krehel, the chief information security officer for
Identity Theft 911, has a blog about the many ways in which such a data breach can affect consumers and organizations.
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