Recently, Southwest Health, Inc. confirmed that the personal information of some current and former employees as well their dependents was compromised as a result of a data security incident.
If you received a data breach notification, it is essential you understand what is at risk. More about our investigation into this breach, and what you can do if your data was stolen, is available here.
Last year, 1,862 data breaches affected more than 189 million people. On average, victims of identity theft spend 200 hours and over $1,300 recovering their identity. Many victims also suffer emotional distress, credit damage, and may even end up with a criminal record. Taking immediate action is the best way to prevent the worst consequences of a data breach.
What We Know So Far About the Southwest Health Center Data Breach
According to a letter written by Southwest Health’s lawyers, on January 11, 2022, Southwest Health, Inc. First detected unusual activity on its computer network. In response, the company took a closer look at the incident, in hopes of learning more about its causes and whether any sensitive patient or employee information was compromised.
The investigation revealed that an unauthorized party was able to access sensitive information belonging to certain current and former employees, as well as their beneficiaries. While the compromised information varies, it may include your name, Social Security number, and bank account number.
On March 16, 2022, Southwest Health began sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals whose information was compromised as a result of the recent data security incident.
Southwest Health not-for-profit community health care provider serving residents of southwestern Wisconsin. The company operates a hospital and behavioral health services facilities in Cuba City and Platteville. Between these facilities, the company provides a wide range of services to its patients, including urgent care, primary care clinics, women’s health, orthopedic surgery, sports medicine, sports performance services, and general surgical services. Southwest Health, Inc. currently employs about 378 people and generates approximately $56 million in annual revenue.
More About the Causes and Risks of Data Breaches
Often, data breaches are the result of a hacker gaining unauthorized access to a company’s computer systems with the intention of obtaining sensitive consumer or employee information. While no one can know the reason why a hacker targeted Southwest Health, it is common for hackers and other criminals to identify those companies believed to have weak data security systems or vulnerabilities in their networks.
Once a cybercriminal gains access to a computer network, they can then access and remove any data stored on the compromised servers. While in most cases a company experiencing a data breach can identify which files were accessible, there may be no way for the company to tell which files the hacker actually accessed or whether they removed any data.
While the fact that your information was compromised in a data breach does not necessarily mean it will be used for criminal purposes, being the victim of a data breach puts your sensitive data in the hands of an unauthorized person. As a result, you are at an increased risk of identity theft and other frauds, and criminal use of your information is a possibility that should not be ignored.
Given this reality, individuals who receive a Southwest Health data breach notification should take the situation seriously and remain vigilant in checking for any signs of unauthorized activity. Businesses like Southwest Health are responsible for protecting the employee data in their possession. If evidence emerges that Southwest Health failed to adequately protect your sensitive information, you may be eligible for financial compensation through a data breach lawsuit.
What Are Employees’ Remedies in the Wake of the Southwest Health Data Breach?
When employees decided to accept a job with Southwest Health, they assumed that the company would take their privacy concerns seriously. And it goes without saying that employees would think twice before giving a company access to their information if they knew it wasn’t going to be secure. Thus, data breaches such as this one raise questions about the adequacy of a company’s data security system.
When a business, government entity, non-profit organization, school, or any other organization accepts and stores employee data, it also accepts a legal obligation to ensure this information remains private. The United States data breach laws allow employees to pursue civil data breach claims against organizations that fail to protect their information.
Of course, given the recency of the Southwest Health data breach, the investigation into the incident is still in its early stages. And, as of right now, there is not yet any evidence suggesting Southwest Health is legally responsible for the breach. However, that could change as additional information about the breach and its causes is revealed.
If you have questions about your ability to bring a data breach class action lawsuit against Southwest Health, reach out to a data breach attorney as soon as possible.
What Should You Do if You Receive a Southwest Health Data Breach Notification?
If Southwest Health sends you a data breach notification letter, you are among those whose information was compromised in the recent breach. While this isn’t a time to panic, the situation warrants your attention. Below are a few important steps you can take to protect yourself from identity theft and other fraudulent activity:
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Identify What Information Was Compromised: The first thing to do after learning of a data breach is to carefully review the data breach letter sent. The letter will tell you what information of yours was accessible to the unauthorized party. Be sure to make a copy of the letter and keep it for your records. If you have trouble understanding the letter or what steps you can take to protect yourself, a data breach lawyer can help.
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Limit Future Access to Your Accounts: Once you determine what information of yours was affected by the breach, the safest play is to assume that the hacker orchestrating the attack stole your data. While this may not be the case, it’s better to be safe than sorry. To prevent future access to your accounts, you should change all passwords and security questions for any online account. This includes online banking accounts, credit card accounts, online shopping accounts, and any other account containing your personal information. You should also consider changing your social media account passwords and setting up multi-factor authentication where it is available.
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Protect Your Credit and Your Financial Accounts: After a data breach, companies often provide affected parties with free credit monitoring services. Signing up for the free credit monitoring offers some significant protections and doesn’t impact any of your rights to pursue a data breach lawsuit against the company if it turns out they were legally responsible for the breach. You should contact a credit bureau to request a copy of your credit report—even if you do not notice any signs of fraud or unauthorized activity. Adding a fraud alert to your account will provide you with additional protection.
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Consider Implementing a Credit Freeze: A credit freeze prevents anyone from accessing your credit report. Credit freezes are free and stay in effect until you remove them. Once a credit freeze is in place, you can temporarily lift the freeze if you need to apply for any type of credit. While placing a credit freeze on your accounts may seem like overkill, given the risks involved, it’s justified. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center (“ITRC”), placing a credit freeze on your account is the “single most effective way to prevent a new credit/financial account from being opened.” However, just 3% of data breach victims place a freeze on their accounts.
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Regularly Monitor Your Credit Report and Financial Accounts: Protecting yourself in the wake of a data breach requires an ongoing effort on your part. You should regularly check your credit report and all financial account statements, looking for any signs of unauthorized activity or fraud. You should also call your banks and credit card companies to report the fact that your information was compromised in a data breach.
Below is a copy of the initial data breach letter issued by Southwest Health, Inc. (the actual notice sent to employees can be found here):
Dear [Consumer],
We represent Southwest Health Center (“Southwest Health”), a nonprofit community healthcare provider headquartered in Platteville, Wisconsin. This letter is being submitted because the personal information of one (1) New Hampshire resident may have been affected by a recent data security incident experienced by Southwest Health. The incident may have involved unauthorized access to one (1) resident’s name, Social Security number, and financial or bank account number.
On January 11, 2022, Southwest Health detected unusual activity in its network environment. Upon discovering this activity, Southwest Health took steps to secure its network and launched an investigation with the assistance of a leading, independent forensics firm engaged to determine what happened and whether sensitive information was accessed or acquired without authorization as a result. As a result of this ongoing investigation, Southwest Health learned that certain folders containing information pertaining to former and current employees and their dependents may have been accessed without authorization. Southwest Health then conducted a review of the contents of those files and, on February 16, 2022, determined that the impacted systems contained personal information belonging to one (1) New Hampshire resident. Southwest Health then worked diligently to identify current address information required to provide notification. Southwest Health also notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation about the incident.
Southwest Health notified potentially-affected individuals of this incident via the attached sample letter, or a substantially similar version, on March 16, 2022. In so doing, Southwest Health offered complimentary credit monitoring and identity theft restoration services through IDX. These services include Credit Monitoring, Identity Restoration, and $1 Million Identity Theft Insurance.
Southwest Health has also launched a comprehensive data review project with the assistance of a data review firm to examine other files that were accessed or acquired without authorization and determine if they contain personal information. This project is ongoing, and we will provide you with supplemental notice should additional notification be provided to additional New Hampshire residents.
Please contact me should you have any questions.
