Utah data breach highlights vulnerability of health records

The Utah Department of Technology Services (DTS) and Utah Department of Health today announced up to 255,000 additional people had their Social Security numbers listed in data stolen by thieves from a computer server housing health records last week. These victims are people whose information was sent to the state by their health care provider in a transaction called a Medicaid Eligibility Inquiry to determine their status as possible Medicaid recipients. The victims are likely to be people who have visited a health care provider in the past four months. Some may be Medicaid or CHIP recipients; others are individuals whose health care providers were unsure as to their status as Medicaid recipients. DTS has started the process of identifying these additional victims, and the state will be sending letters directly to them as they are identified. A total of approximately 280,000 victims had their Social Security numbers stolen and approximately 500,000 other victims had less-sensitive personal information stolen.