Recently, Comprehensive Health Services announced that the company was the victim of a “cyber intrusion” resulting in the names and Social Security numbers of as many as 94,449 individuals being compromised. The data breach lawyers at Console & Associates, P.C. are going to begin interviewing victims of the breach to determine what damages they sustained and what legal claims may be available to them. If you recently learned your information was compromised in the recent breach, reaching out to a data breach and consumer privacy lawyer is the first step to understanding all of your options.
Comprehensive Health Services is (“CHS”) is a subsidiary of Acuity International, a for-profit company that provides professional services, specialized consulting, engineering, medical, and environmental solutions, and large-scale program management services. Acuity International’s clients include U.S. governmental entities as well as businesses in the defense, healthcare and homeland security industries. Comprehensive Health Services is headquartered in Cape Canaveral, Florida and its parent company, Acuity International, is based in Reston, Virginia.
According to an official filing by Comprehensive Health Services, on September 30, 2020, the company noticed suspicious activity in its “digital environment” after it discovered several fraudulent wire transfer requests. In response, Comprehensive Health Services conducted an internal investigation to learn more about the incident, its scope, and what consumer information may have been affected as a result of the cyber attack.
On November 3, 2021, Comprehensive Health Services confirmed that the personal information of certain individuals employed by some of the company’s customers may have been accessed or stolen by an unauthorized party. This information may include affected parties’ names and Social Security numbers.
On February 22, 2022, Comprehensive Health Services began sending out data breach notification letters, informing those who were impacted by the CHS data breach.
Often, data breaches are the result of a hacker gaining unauthorized access to a company’s computer systems with the intention of obtaining sensitive consumer information. While no one can know the reason why a hacker targeted Comprehensive Health Services, it is common for hackers and other criminals to identify those companies believed to have weak data security systems or vulnerabilities in their networks.
Once a cybercriminal gains access to a computer network, they can then access and remove any data stored on the compromised servers. While in most cases a company experiencing a data breach can identify which files were accessible, there may be no way for the company to tell which files the hacker actually accessed or whether they removed any data.
While the fact that your information was compromised in a data breach does not necessarily mean it will be used for criminal purposes, being the victim of a data breach puts your sensitive data in the hands of an unauthorized person. As a result, you are at an increased risk of identity theft and other frauds, and criminal use of your information is a possibility that should not be ignored.
Given this reality, individuals who receive a Comprehensive Health Services data breach notification should take the situation seriously and remain vigilant in checking for any signs of unauthorized activity. Businesses like Comprehensive Health Services are responsible for protecting the consumer data in their possession. If evidence emerges that Comprehensive Health Services failed to adequately protect your sensitive information, you may be eligible for financial compensation through a data breach lawsuit.
When customers decided to do business with Comprehensive Health Services, they assumed that the company would take their privacy concerns seriously. And it goes without saying that consumers would think twice before giving a company access to their information if they knew it wasn’t going to be secure. Thus, data breaches such as this one raise questions about the adequacy of a company’s data security system.
When a business, government entity, non-profit organization, school, or any other organization accepts and stores consumer data, it also accepts a legal obligation to ensure this information remains private. The United States data breach laws allow consumers to pursue civil data breach claims against organizations that fail to protect their information.
Of course, given the recency of the Comprehensive Health Services data breach, the investigation into the incident is still in its early stages. And, as of right now, there is not yet any evidence suggesting Comprehensive Health Services is legally responsible for the breach. However, that could change as additional information about the breach and its causes is revealed.
If you have questions about your ability to bring a data breach class action lawsuit against Comprehensive Health Services, reach out to a data breach attorney as soon as possible.
If Comprehensive Health Services sends you a data breach notification letter, you are among those whose information was compromised in the recent breach. While this isn’t a time to panic, the situation warrants your attention. Below are a few important steps you can take to protect yourself from identity theft and other fraudulent activity:
Identify What Information Was Compromised: The first thing to do after learning of a data breach is to carefully review the data breach letter sent. The letter will tell you what information of yours was accessible to the unauthorized party. Be sure to make a copy of the letter and keep it for your records. If you have trouble understanding the letter or what steps you can take to protect yourself, a consumer privacy lawyer can help.
Limit Future Access to Your Accounts: Once you determine what information of yours was affected by the breach, the safest play is to assume that the hacker orchestrating the attack stole your data. While this may not be the case, it’s better to be safe than sorry. To prevent future access to your accounts, you should change all passwords and security questions for any online account. This includes online banking accounts, credit card accounts, online shopping accounts, and any other account containing your personal information. You should also consider changing your social media account passwords and setting up multi-factor authentication where it is available.
Protect Your Credit and Your Financial Accounts: After a data breach, companies often provide affected parties with free credit monitoring services. Signing up for the free credit monitoring offers some significant protections and doesn’t impact any of your rights to pursue a data breach lawsuit against the company if it turns out they were legally responsible for the breach. You should contact a credit bureau to request a copy of your credit report—even if you do not notice any signs of fraud or unauthorized activity. Adding a fraud alert to your account will provide you with additional protection.
Consider Implementing a Credit Freeze: A credit freeze prevents anyone from accessing your credit report. Credit freezes are free and stay in effect until you remove them. Once a credit freeze is in place, you can temporarily lift the freeze if you need to apply for any type of credit. While placing a credit freeze on your accounts may seem like overkill, given the risks involved, it’s justified. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center (“ITRC”), placing a credit freeze on your account is the “single most effective way to prevent a new credit/financial account from being opened.” However, just 3% of data breach victims place a freeze on their accounts.
Regularly Monitor Your Credit Report and Financial Accounts: Protecting yourself in the wake of a data breach requires an ongoing effort on your part. You should regularly check your credit report and all financial account statements, looking for any signs of unauthorized activity or fraud. You should also call your banks and credit card companies to report the fact that your information was compromised in a data breach.
Below is a copy of the initial data breach letter issued by Comprehensive Health Services.
Dear [Consumer],
Comprehensive Health Services (“CHS”) was the target of a cyber intrusion that may have involved your personal information. CHS takes the privacy and security of your information very seriously, and while there is no evidence that your personal information has been used inappropriately, we are informing you of the incident and offering you complimentary credit monitoring and identity protection services. CHS provides occupational health services for your current or former employer, <>. Our records indicate that you attended one or more physical exams scheduled by CHS.
What Happened: CHS detected suspicious activity within its network. We immediately launched an investigation and engaged cybersecurity experts to assist in our response to the incident. Furthermore, we reported the incident to law enforcement, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), in hopes of holding the perpetrator(s) accountable. On November 3, 2021, as part of the investigation into the cyber intrusion, CHS learned that some personal information of current and former employees of the <> was in certain invoicing files pre-dating 2019. These invoicing files are the ones that may have been accessed or acquired without authorization. Once discovered, CHS worked diligently to confirm the scope of those affected and remediate the incident for all impacted individuals.
What Information Was Involved: Your <> may have been accessed or acquired without authorization during the incident.
What We Are Doing: In addition to engaging with law enforcement, the Company implemented additional corrective actions as recommended by the forensic review team during its investigation. We have invested in enhanced network security measures, including: 1) purchasing a new suite of endpoint detection and response tools, and installing this software on all servers and endpoints on the network enterprise; 2) replacing our previous threat detection and monitoring surveillance vendor; 3) adding capabilities for extended detection and response to future attempted network intrusions; and 4) conducting network penetration testing.
To alleviate concerns over possible identity theft as a result of this incident, and to restore confidence following this incident, we are offering you complimentary identity protection services through Equifax, a leader in risk mitigation and response. This service includes <> months of credit monitoring, dark web monitoring, a $1,000,000 identity fraud loss reimbursement policy, and fully-managed identity theft recovery service.
As noted above, to date there is no evidence your information has been misused. However, we encourage you to take full advantage of this service offering.
What You Can Do: We encourage you to enroll in the services offered by going to www.equifax.com/activate and using the enrollment code <> to initiate those services. Please note that the deadline to enroll is <>.
Please also note that neither CHS nor <> will contact you to confirm any personally identifiable information. If you are contacted by anyone purporting to represent CHS or <> and asking you for your information, do not provide it.
For More Information: If you have any questions regarding the incident or would like assistance with enrolling in the services offered, please call 800-741-0381 between 9AM – 9PM EST.
We remain dedicated to protecting your personal information and deeply regret any concern or inconvenience this may cause you.
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DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.
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