News and Updates on Information Technology

United States – Benefit Recovery Specialists

Exploit: Malware
Benefit Recovery Specialists: Medical Billing and Debt Collection 

Risk to Small Business: 1.974 = Severe

A malware incident was just confirmed at Benefit Recovery Systems by the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights. Several computers at the Houston-based company were infected, leading to a breach that exposed thousands of customer records. In a breach notification statement posted on BRSI’s website, the company says that on April 30, it discovered a malware incident affecting certain company systems. The company stated that customer files containing personal information may have been accessed and/or acquired by the unknown actor between April 20 and April 30, 2020.  

Individual Risk: 2.227 = Severe

Information that may have been exposed includes name, date of birth, date of service, provider name, policy identification number, procedure code, and/or diagnosis code. A small number of Social Security numbers may also have been exposed. Patients that were impacted should be alert for spear phishing attempts or identity theft. 

Customers Impacted: 275,000

How it Could Affect Your Customers’ Business:  Healthcare data is one of the hottest commodities in today’s data markets – especially COVID-19 related patient or research data. Plus, healthcare companies face steep fines for HIPPA violations like this, making it prudent for every healthcare organization to add data loss prevention and security awareness training as priorities before a breach.

Source:
https://www.databreachtoday.com/billing-vendor-breach-affects-275000-a-14607