Thousands of patients' personal data breached at Massachusetts hospital

Caitlin Wilson | | Health Exec | Cybersecurity

About 4,300 Massachusetts General Hospital patients’ Social Security numbers, dates of birth and dental info became available to unauthorized users in February, the hospital announced June 29.

According to the Boston Globe, the delay in disclosure by the hospital came at the request of police, who wanted to keep the incident under wraps during an investigation. Boston’s WHDH news reported the hospital began notifying affected patients in May.

“MGH is committed to the security of all of the sensitive information maintained by its third-party vendors and is taking this matter very seriously,” a hospital spokesperson told the Boston Herald.

Minnesota-based Patterson Dental Supply, Inc. was in charge of storing the data. The company has updated its security measures since the breach, the Globe reported. 

Caitlin Wilson,

Senior Writer

As a Senior Writer at TriMed Media Group, Caitlin covers breaking news across several facets of the healthcare industry for all of TriMed's brands.

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