On October 2, 2023, Greater Dallas Healthcare Enterprises (“GDHE”) filed a notice of data breach with the Attorney General of Texas after discovering that an unauthorized third party gained access to an employee’s email account. In this notice, GDHE explains that the incident resulted in an unauthorized party being able to access consumers’ sensitive information, which includes their names, dates of birth, addresses, medical and treatment information, billing information and claims information. Upon completing its investigation, GDHE began sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals whose information was affected by the recent data security incident.

If you received a data breach notification from Greater Dallas Healthcare Enterprises, it is essential you understand what is at risk and what you can do about it. A data breach lawyer can help you learn more about how to protect yourself from becoming a victim of fraud or identity theft, as well as discuss your legal options following the Greater Dallas Healthcare Enterprises data breach. For more information, please see our recent piece on the topic here.

What Caused the Greater Dallas Healthcare Enterprises Breach?

The Greater Dallas Healthcare Enterprises data breach was only recently announced, and more information is expected in the near future. However, GDHE’s filing with the Attorney General of Texas provides some important information on what led up to the breach. According to this source, on August 11, 2023, GDHE learned that an unauthorized party had gained access to a medical assistant’s Microsoft 365 email account. In response, Greater Dallas Healthcare Enterprises contained the incident and then launched an investigation to determine what, if any, patient data was compromised as a result.

The GDHE investigation confirmed that the unauthorized third party was able to access the medical assistant’s email account between July 28, 2023 and August 15, 2023, which provided them with access to certain files, including those that contained personal information. There was also evidence that the hackers removed some of this data.

After learning that sensitive consumer data was accessible to an unauthorized party, Greater Dallas Healthcare Enterprises reviewed the compromised files to determine what information was leaked and which consumers were impacted. While the breached information varies depending on the individual, it may include your name, date of birth, address, medical and treatment information, billing information and claims information.

On October 2, 2023, Greater Dallas Healthcare Enterprises sent out data breach letters to anyone who was affected by the recent data security incident. These letters should provide victims with a list of which information of theirs was compromised.

Note that the compromised Office365 account is separate from Greater Dallas Healthcare’s internal network and systems, which were not affected by this incident.

More Information About Greater Dallas Healthcare Enterprises

Greater Dallas Healthcare Enterprises is a healthcare provider based in Dallas, Texas. Greater Dallas Healthcare Enterprises is a subsidiary of Tenet Healthcare Corporation, a national diversified healthcare services company that is also headquartered in Dallas. Tenet Healthcare Corp. employs more than 78,000 people and generates approximately $19 billion in annual revenue.