Feds investigating Cincinnati Facebook breach

Laura Pedulli | | Health Exec | Cybersecurity

The Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has launched a federal investigation into HIPAA privacy violations at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, according to news sources.

The investigation follows a lawsuit filed earlier this month against the school for sensitive information posted on Facebook by two employees. A woman diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection sued after the employees leaked her medical records online in a Facebook group called “Team No Hoes.”

The woman is suing two University of Cincinnati Medical Center employees for more than $25,000 in damages for allegedly publishing a screenshot of her syphilis diagnosis and "slut-shaming" her to the Facebook group's roughly 2,300 members, according to Cincinnati news outlet WLWT5.

The federal investigation was launched because of the school’s failure to report the incident to the HHS Office of Civil Rights.

Laura Pedulli

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