Washington University laptop theft affects 1,100

Luke Gale | | Health Exec | Cybersecurity

An unencrypted, password-protected laptop stolen from the hotel room of a Washington University professor traveling in Argentina contained information on 1,100 patients, including names, dates of birth, diagnoses and Social Security numbers.

All affected individuals were patients of a physician from the surgery department, but there were no actual medical records on the computer, according to a statement from the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. While university staff do not believe the laptop was stolen for the patient information it contained, they began notifying affected patients on Jan. 11.

For more information, visit the Washington University website.  

Luke Gale

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