Stolen laptop causes Wash. breach

Beth Walsh | | Health Exec | Cybersecurity

More than 650 clients of the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services are impacted by a stolen laptop.

The laptop of psychologist Sunil Kakar, PhD, was stolen in Gig Harbor, Wash., and later found at a pawn shop in the town. Protected information on the computer included names, identification numbers, psychological evaluations and diagnoses, birth and service dates, addresses and the last four digits of Social Security numbers.

There is no evidence that files on the password-protected but unencrypted laptop were accessed. However, “We are unable to determine whether the data were accessed or further copied or disclosed,” Kakar says in the patient notification letter.

 

 

Beth Walsh,

Editor

Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.

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