Notice of Data Breach
December 4, 2023
At Cardiovascular Consultants Ltd. (CVC) we take the privacy and security of personal information seriously. We are providing the following information in accordance with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and applicable state laws to explain that a third party impermissibly accessed personal information, including health related information found in patient medical and billing records.
On September 29, 2023, CVC became aware that some of its computer systems were being affected by a cybersecurity incident. CVC initiated incident response and recovery procedures, took steps to contain the incident, and began an investigation with the assistance of a third-party forensic firm. Based on what we have learned, we believe that, starting on or before September 27, 2023, the attacker(s) accessed certain systems, encrypted information, and stole some CVC information.
The personal information on our computer systems may have included information that we maintain about our patients, such as name, mailing address, date of birth, and other demographic and contact information, including emergency contact information, Social Security number, driver’s license and state ID numbers, insurance policy and guarantor information, diagnosis and treatment information, and other information from medical or billing records. Our systems also contained information regarding account guarantors including name, mailing address, telephone number, date of birth, and email address. Our systems further contained information regarding insurance policy holder/subscribers including name, mailing address, telephone number, date of birth, insurance policy information, such as group or policy number, and, in some cases, Social Security number.
On December 2, 2023, we mailed notification letters to individuals whose information was contained in our computer systems and have arranged to provide them with 24 months of identity protection, credit monitoring, and fraud resolution services. We have also implemented additional security measures in an effort to protect against this occurrence or similar events in the future.
Any individuals who receive notification from CVC or who might otherwise be concerned about identity theft are encouraged to regularly review statements from their accounts and to periodically obtain their credit report from one or more of the national credit reporting companies. Individuals may obtain a copy of their credit report once every 12 months by either visiting http://www.annualcreditreport.com, calling toll free at 1-877-322-8228, or completing an Annual Credit Report Request Form (found at https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0155-free-credit-reports) and mailing it to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA 30348-5281. For questions about identity theft, credit monitoring, and how to keep information secure, patients can visit this website: http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/topics/identity-theft.
If you have questions regarding this incident, please contact our dedicated call center at 1-800-442-5931, reference # B110209.