Arkansas hospital reports data security breach

Arkansas-based Howard Memorial Hospital reported being impacted by a data breach which could compromise patients and employees, according to the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. The hospital detected a suspicious network activity on Dec. 4 and an investigation found that an unknown actor could have possibly stolen files between Nov. 14 and Dec. 4. This incident is the fifth in the state in 2022, with four previous breaches affecting 490,868 individuals. The breaches were at ARcare, Independent Case Management, Magie Mabrey Hughes Eye Clinic, and Mena Regional Health Care System. Federal law enforcement were already contacted by the hospital, which also plans to inform the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services about the incident. The release informs the public about an ongoing review of the at-risk files, which could include name, medical record number, Social Security numbers, contact information, medical history, health insurance, diagnosis, date of birth, treatment and physician name, and those potentially impacted will receive letters and free credit monitoring, as well as identity protection services.