U of U HOSPITAL DATA BREACH:
University of Utah Hospital and Clinics
>> patients are bracing for the unknown as police and prosecutors
>> investigate
>> the theft of 2.2 million billing records filled with personal
>> information.
>> Authorities say the records, stolen out of a courier's personal vehicle
>> earlier this month, put the private data of patients from the past 16
>> years at risk. Measures taken so far include offering free credit
>> monitoring services for at least 1.3 million patients whose Social
>> Security numbers were compromised, and a $1,000 reward for the return
of
>> the tapes - no questions asked. Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim
Winder and
>> Lorris Betz, a senior vice president for health sciences for University
>> Health Care, say the stolen records were on backup tapes designed to
>> safeguard the records in case materials housed in the hospitals and
>> clinics were destroyed. The tapes were taken from the vehicle of an
>> employee of Sandy-based Perpetual Storage Inc. near the employee's
Kearns
>> home on 2 JUN. The employee had been assigned to pick up the tapes in a
>> secure company van and transport them to an off-site vault, said James
>> Nowa, a vice president for sales and marketing for Perpetual Storage.
He
>> violated company policy by taking them home and leaving them in his
car.
>> A thief then broke into the employee's vehicle stealing a metal box
>> holding the tapes, Winder said. Nowa said the 18-year veteran employee
>> has
>> been fired, and the incident is the first of its kind he knows of in
the
>> company's 40-year history.
>>
>> An investigation is ongoing, but the theft appears to
be the work of
>> inexperienced criminals, who likely believed the metal box containing
the
>> tapes was filled with cash, said Winder. After collaborating with the
>> FBI,
>> Winder said it's unlikely the tapes were stolen to commit identity
theft.
>> There's no evidence any of the information on the tapes has been
>> accessed;
>> besides, anyone trying to use the tapes would need specialized
equipment
>> to view the contents, Winder said. But there are also no guarantees.
>> Melodie Rydalch, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, said the
FBI
>> and the Utah Identity Task Force, which includes local and county law
>> enforcement agencies, is investigating the thefts. She warned of
federal
>> penalties for anyone who uses stolen identities. Betz said the
university
>> delayed releasing news of the security breach to the public until the
>> sheriff's office had completed an initial investigation. The university
>> had worked with Perpetual Storage for 12 years before the theft but
>> suspended deliveries after the incident. An assessment of university
data
>> security policies and procedures is under way, Betz said. [Source: Salt
>> Lake Tribune Melinda Rogers article 11 Jun 08 ++]