Group Health Cooperative Data Breach Investigation
The Lyon Firm is investigating reports of over 533,000 individuals impacted in a recent “hacking/IT incident” reported by Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights (HHS). Contact our legal team to learn more about filing class action claims following any data theft event.
What Happened at Group Health Cooperative SC Wisconsin?
Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin (GHC-SCW) has begun sending out data breach notification letters to hundreds of thousands of individuals who may have had their personal information leaked in a data security incident. In a sample letter sent to the Office of the Maine Attorney General, GHC-SCW offers a few details into the incident, though an investigation is ongoing.
Group Health Cooperative posted an announcement on their website on January 25th, 2024, informing patients that they identified unauthorized access to their IT network by an unknown source. The hacker allegedly attempted to encrypt GHC-SCW’s system but was unsuccessful. GHC then hired a cyber incident response team to assist them in restoring and verifying the security of the healthcare network and systems.
On February 9, 2024, Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin concluded that the attacker had copied some of GHC-SCW’s data, which included protected health information (PHI). The personal data that may have been compromised includes the following:
- Name
- Address
- Telephone number
- E-mail address
- Date of birth
- Social security number
- Member number
- Medicare and/or Medicaid number
Anyone contacted by Group Health Cooperative regarding the recent data security event should contact an attorney to discuss potential legal action, and to learn more about how to protect themselves in the future. There are significant security risks involved when medical data and SSNs are leaked to cyber criminals. Medical identity theft and fraud are very real threats to those who have their personal data stolen in a data breach.
Our data breach lawyers have the experience, dedication and resources to settle class action lawsuits following data breach incidents. The Lyon Firm is currently involved in numerous data theft cases and we have settled a number of similar cases against healthcare entities nationwide. Contact us to discuss your legal options and to learn more about your next steps forward.