New Healthcare Breach Blamed On Stolen Laptop - Olmec Skip to main content

New Healthcare Breach Blamed On Stolen Laptop

By February 11, 2020May 9th, 2022Cybersecurity

There have been a dizzying number of high-profile data breaches in recent months, and now we have one more to add to the growing list.

Health Share of Oregon is a Medicaid Coordinated Care Organization. They recently disclosed that they lost control of health and personal information belonging to more than 650,000 people.

The root cause in this case wasn’t an elaborate hack. One of their employees had a laptop computer stolen while making use of a third-party vendor responsible for non-emergent medical transportation.

Health Share has begun the daunting task of sending out letters to every patient who had their information compromised. They’re offering a free year of identity monitoring, credit monitoring, fraud consultation and identity theft restoration. That is pretty standard fare in situations like these, but also small comfort for those who have been impacted. In addition to the individual patient contact letters, the company also released a statement.

Their statement reads, in part, as follows:

Though the theft took place at an external vendor, we take our members’ privacy and security very seriously. Therefore, we are ensuring that members, partners, regulator, and the community are made fully aware of this issue.”

The company also tried to reassure impacted individuals by letting them know that their personal health histories were not exposed.

That’s a good thing, but the data that was stolen was extensive. It included members’ names, addresses, phone numbers, dates of birth, Medicaid ID numbers, and Social Security numbers. All that is more than enough information to steal 650,000+ identities.

Health Share has set up a toll-free call center, open Monday through Friday from 8:00am to 5:30pm. The service is available to any impacted individuals with questions or concerns, which is a fantastic additional step we don’t often see when things like this happen. Now, if only it hadn’t happened in the first place.

Jason Manteiga

Jason J. Manteiga, Vice President of Olmec Systems, has been part of the company for over the past 20 years. He believes that having a great work environment and supportive team, is the ultimate key to success. Since being in the IT realm for over 25 years, Jason, along with Olmec Systems, has been on the Inc. 5000 “List of America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies” and Channel Futures MSP 501 “Top Managed Service Providers in North America,” along with other awards and nominations. Jason earned his Bachelor Degree in Information Systems from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. He also holds certifications in Microsoft MCSE, VMWare VCP, and Cisco CCNA. In his spare time, Jason is a contributor for The Center for Social & Legal Research (Privacy Exchange) and a member of the Morris County Chamber of Commerce. His hobbies include cycling and kayaking. He currently lives in New Jersey with his wife, two daughters and son.