Fraud at root of Va. data breach

Laura Pedulli | | Health Exec | Cybersecurity

Data from more than 2,000 patients at Virginia-based Riverside Health System are at risk after unauthorized access by a former employee, reports PilotOnline.com.

The ex-employee—a convicted felon—was charged with stealing credit card and Social Security information from cancer patients during her two-year tenure at Riverside. She is scheduled to appear on Aug. 25 at Chesapeake General District Court on 13 identity-theft and fraud charges, according to the article.

Peter Glagola, a Riverside Health System representative, said the system was unaware of her previous convictions, and did not conduct a background check when the employee was hired as an unlicensed medical assistant. Moving forward, the system is looking to require background checks for all employees.

“Keeping patient information protected is vital at Riverside. We are looking at ways to improve our monitoring program with more automatic flags to protect our patients,” Glagola said in a release.

All affected patients are receiving credit monitoring services.

Laura Pedulli

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