Email Incidents Reported by Survival Flight and Jacksonville Children’s Multispecialty Clinics
Survival Flight, Inc., an emergency medical transportation company with bases in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Tennessee, has identified a breach of its email environment. Suspicious activity was detected within its email system on May 22, 2024. Third-party digital forensics specialists were engaged to investigate the breach and confirmed there had been unauthorized access to several employee email accounts.
The affected accounts were reviewed, and it was confirmed on August 19, 2024, that they contained sensitive patient information including names, medical histories, treatment information, health insurance information Social Security numbers, and financial information. The breach was recently reported to the HHS’ Office for Civil Rights as affecting 12,342 individuals.
While the accounts were subjected to unauthorized access, no evidence has been found to indicate any misuse of patient data; however, the affected individuals have been advised to monitor their accounts and explanation of benefits statements for suspicious activity. Survival Flight is working with cybersecurity experts to evaluate and reinforce its email and data security measures.
Jacksonville Children’s Multispecialty Clinics, North Carolina
Jacksonville Children’s Multispecialty Clinics (JCMC) and Atlantic Medical Management in North Carolina have notified 2,224 individuals about the accidental disclosure of their email addresses, which were added to a visible field of a distribution list.
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A notification was sent on August 19, 2024, to advise patients about a new pediatric physician at JCMC Swansboro, resulting in their email addresses being disclosed to other individuals. JCMC has strengthened its technological safeguards and enhanced its administrative policies to prevent similar errors in the future. The exposure of email addresses increases the risk of phishing attempts and brute force attacks on accounts. The affected individuals have been advised to change their email passwords and ensure that a strong, unique password is set for their account.
