Data Breaches Announced by US HealthConnect & Altos Inc.
The medical education provider US HealthConnect and the California billing services vendor Altos Inc have recently announced cyberattacks and data breaches.
US HealthConnect
US HealthConnect, a provider of continuing medical education and promotional education to healthcare providers, has recently announced a cybersecurity incident that was identified on January 25, 2025. Suspicious activity was identified within its computer network, and third-party cybersecurity specialists were engaged to investigate to determine the nature and scope of the activity.
The investigation confirmed that an unauthorized third party had access to its network and may have obtained certain information from the affected systems, including names and Social Security numbers. After validating the results and obtaining up-to-date contact information, notification letters started to be issued on September 4, 2025.
US HealthConnect has enhanced its existing policies and procedures and implemented additional administrative and technical safeguards to protect against similar incidents in the future, and the affected individuals have been offered up to 24 months of complimentary credit monitoring and identity theft protection services. The data breach has been reported to regulators, although it is currently unclear how many individuals have been affected.
Altos Inc.
Altos Inc., a provider of medical billing, medical transcription & medical management services to healthcare providers in southern California, has discovered that an internal system containing patients’ protected health information has been accidentally exposed to the Internet.
The security error was identified on June 17, 2025. The exposed system was immediately secured, and an investigation was launched to determine how the error occurred and the information that had been exposed. On July 21, 2025, Altos determined that the exposed system contained the protected health information of 6,414 individuals, including names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and health information.
In addition to securing the exposed system and implementing procedures to reduce the risk of similar incidents in the future, additional security reviews have been conducted, and steps are being taken to improve its overall security posture. While there have been no reports of misuse of patient data in connection with the incident, out of an abundance of caution, the affected individuals have been offered complimentary credit monitoring and identity theft protection services.
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Data Breaches Announced by Washington, Florida, and Minnesota Healthcare Providers
Data breaches have recently been announced by Northwest Medical Specialties in Washington, Medical Associates of Brevard in Florida, and Twin Cities Pain Clinic in Minnesota.
Northwest Medical Specialties
Northwest Medical Specialties, PLLC (NWMS), a physician-owned practice with six locations in the South Puget Sound area of Washington state, has started notifying patients about a recent security incident that potentially involved unauthorized access to some of their protected health information.
NWMS was contacted by an unidentified party on August 18, 2025, who claimed to have accessed its network and sensitive patient data. After securing the network and engaging third-party digital forensics specialists to investigate a potential breach, it was concluded that patient data was potentially copied without authorization. The review of the affected files was completed on August 22, 2025, and confirmed that the potentially compromised data included full names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and medical information. Notification letters are now being sent to the affected individuals, who have been offered complimentary credit monitoring services.
NWMS said it is reviewing its policies and procedures related to data privacy and security and has implemented additional technical safeguards to further enhance system security. The data breach is not yet shown on the HHS’ Office for Civil Rights breach portal, so the total number of affected individuals cannot yet be confirmed; however, the Washington Attorney General was notified that 3,846 Washingtonians were affected.
Medical Associates of Brevard
Medical Associates of Brevard, a provider of comprehensive healthcare services to residents of Brevard County in Florida, has recently notified state attorneys general about a recent criminal cyberattack that occurred on or around January 17, 2025. Third-party cybersecurity experts were engaged to investigate the incident and review the files on the compromised parts of its network. The review was completed on July 7, 2025, when it was confirmed that the potentially compromised data included names, dates of birth, medical treatment information, health insurance information, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers/state identification numbers, and, for a limited number of individuals, financial account information.
Notification letters were mailed to the affected individuals on September 5, 2025. Complimentary credit monitoring and identity theft protection services have been offered, and a series of cybersecurity enhancements have been made to prevent similar incidents in the future. The incident is not yet shown on the HHS’ Office for Civil Rights breach portal, so it is unclear how many individuals have been affected.
Twin Cities Pain Clinic
Twin Cities Pain Clinic, a specialized pain management medical group with six locations in Minnesota, has recently disclosed an email security incident that has exposed patient data. Suspicious activity was identified within an employee’s email account on or around July 9, 2025. A digital forensics firm was engaged to investigate the activity and confirmed on July 31, 2025, that an unauthorized user had accessed the account and a limited number of files stored within SharePoint.
A data mining review was initiated to identify any patients who may have had their protected health information exposed. On August 18, 2025, the review was completed, and determined that patient data was present within emails, attachments, and SharePoint. The exposed data included full names, dates of birth, mailing addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, Social Security numbers, medical record numbers, treatment notes, provide information, Social Security numbers, health insurance information, and financial account information.
Legal counsel is conducting a full review of security practices and systems, and enhanced security protocols and security awareness training will be implemented. While no evidence was found to suggest any information had been downloaded or otherwise removed from its email or SharePoint environments, as a precaution, the affected individuals have been offered complimentary single-bureau credit monitoring, credit report, and credit score services for 24 months.
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Wayne Memorial Hospital Notifies 163,000 Patients About May 2024 Ransomware Attack – The HIPAA Journal
Wayne Memorial Hospital Notifies 163,000 Patients About May 2024 Ransomware Attack
Wayne Memorial Hospital patients have recently been notified that some of their protected health information was stolen by a ransomware group fifteen months ago. Wayne Memorial Hospital, a rural 84-bed hospital in Jessup, Georgia, has recently mailed individual notifications to the 163,400 patients affected by the incident. The ransomware attack was first identified on June 3, 2024, and the forensic investigation revealed that the ransomware group had access to its network from May 30, 2024, to June 3, 2024.
The ransomware group exfiltrated files containing patient data, encrypted files on its network, and demanded a ransom payment to prevent the publication of the data and to obtain the keys to decrypt data. When the attack was identified, the network was disconnected, and systems were taken offline to contain the attack. The ransom was not paid, and files were successfully recovered from backups. The Monti ransomware group claimed responsibility for the attack and added Wayne Memorial Hospital to its data leak site. While the leak site is not currently accessible, the posting received almost 300,000 views while it was live.
The breach notification letters explain that the information involved varies from individual to individual and includes names in combination with some or all of the following: name, date of birth, Social Security number, driver’s license number, state identification number, user identification and password, financial account number, credit or debit card number, credit card expiration date or CVV code, Medicare or Medicaid number, health insurance member number, healthcare provider number, diagnoses, medical history, treatment information, prescription information, and lab test results or images.
Wayne Memorial Hospital said its systems were quickly secured, and additional cybersecurity measures have been implemented to prevent similar incidents in the future. The data breach was first announced more than a year ago on August 2, 2024, and a press release was issued to local media to put patients on alert that their sensitive data had been exposed; however, it has taken a considerable amount of time to review the affected files and issue notifications.
Individual notification letters started to be mailed on August 27, 2025, and complimentary credit monitoring and identity theft protection services have been offered to the affected individuals. The data breach was initially reported to the HHS’ Office for Civil Rights as affecting up to 2,500 individuals; however, the breach turned out to be more severe than that initial estimate, based on the notification to the Maine Attorney General. The HHS’ Office for Civil Rights breach portal has yet to be updated with the latest figure.
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Somerset County Children and Youth Services Department Data Breach
Officials in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, have confirmed an email hacking incident affecting Children and Youth Services patients. Beech Acres Parenting Center in Cincinnati has notified more than 19,000 clients that their personal information was compromised in a November 2024 hacking incident.
Somerset County Children and Youth Services
Officials in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, have identified unauthorized access to the email accounts of certain employees of the Department of Children and Youth Services. Suspicious activity was identified in an employee’s email account on June 26, 2025. Third-party cybersecurity experts were engaged to investigate the activity and confirmed that multiple email accounts had been accessed by an unauthorized third party between June 26 and June 30, 2025.
Some of the emails and attachments in the compromised accounts contained patients’ protected health information. The data review confirmed that the affected individuals had some or all of the following exposed: name, date of birth, Social Security number, date(s) of service, information related to the services received, physician/facility information, medical condition/diagnosis, treatment information, health insurance information, and/or Medicare/Medicaid number. A small subset of individuals may also have had financial information exposed or information related to paternity tests.
The review is ongoing, so it is not yet possible to say how many individuals have been affected. Notification letters will be mailed to the affected individuals when the review is completed, and complimentary credit monitoring services will be offered, where appropriate. County officials have confirmed that several steps have been taken in response to the incident, including changing email passwords, strengthening authentication requirements, providing further cybersecurity training for the workforce, communicating with staff about the risks from phishing emails, and enhancing email security procedures. Additional tools, training, and third-party monitoring partnerships are also being evaluated.
Beech Acres Parenting Center
Beech Acres Parenting Center, a provider of support services to parents and caregivers in the Greater Cincinnati area in Ohio, has started notifying 19,315 individuals about a November 2024 security incident. Unusual activity was identified within its network on November 24, 2024. Immediate action was taken to contain the incident and prevent further unauthorized access, and third-party cybersecurity experts were engaged to investigate the activity.
The forensic investigation confirmed unauthorized access to its network, and the threat actor may have viewed or acquired files containing sensitive information. The review of the affected files confirmed that the exposed data included the names of current and former clients in combination with one or more of the following: date of birth, Social Security number, driver’s license number, bank account and routing number, health insurance information, and medical or treatment information. The affected individuals were notified by mail on August 22, 2025.
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