Warning: Fallout from the Latest Healthcare Data Breaches Is Still Unfolding

A pair of data breaches at two lab test companies exposed information relating to more than 19 million consumers this week. First, Quest Diagnostics admitted it experienced a breach that exposed 12 million patients’ information; a day later, LabCorp revealed a breach affecting 7.7 million people. In the latter case, the company said the breach occurred at a third-party collections firm called American Medical Collections Agency (AMCA) between August 1, 2018 and March 30, 2019. Names, addresses, birthdates, and balance information is likely to have been accessible during that period—however, credit card and bank account information is also stored in the system affected at AMCA. It hasn’t come to light yet what other companies might have been served by AMCA. While you have no control over what goes on within a vendor’s system, these events are a reminder to do your due diligence when selecting who to work with. And it never hurts to do everything you can to make sure your own systems are secure.