Recently, Houston Health Department confirmed that as a result of a technical issue, the COVID-19 test results of more than 10,000 people were made available to over 3,000 individuals through the city’s COVID-19 testing portal.
If you received a data breach notification, it is essential you understand what is at risk. The data breach lawyers at Console & Associates, P.C. are actively investigating the Houston Health Dept. data breach on behalf of people whose information was exposed. As a part of this investigation, we are providing free consultations to anyone affected by the breach who is interested in learning more about the risks of identity theft, what they can do to protect themselves, and what their legal options may be to obtain compensation from Houston Health Dept. Last year, 1,862 data breaches affected more than 189 million people. On average, victims of identity theft spend 200 hours and over $1,300 recovering their identity. Many victims also suffer emotional distress, credit damage, and may even end up with a criminal record. Taking immediate action is the best way to prevent the worst consequences of a data breach.
According to a notice posted on the city’s official website, on January 6, 2022, the health department learned that due to what it believes was a technical error related to the COVID-19 test result portal, the test results of more than 10,000 patients were compromised. Along with COVID-19 test results, the other information available as a result of the breach includes individuals’ names, addresses, dates of birth, email addresses, and testing dates. The city specifically notes that no financial information or Social Security numbers were stored on the affected system.
On February 24, 2022, Houston Health Dept. posted notice of the incident on its website and indicated it is in the process of sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals whose information was compromised as a result of the recent data security incident.
The Houston Health Department is the official government health agency of the City of Houston. The Department’s mission is to promote and protect the health and social well-being of all Houstonians. Along those lines, the Department oversees a variety of programs, including COVID-19 testing and vaccinations, pollution control and prevention, epidemiology and disease reporting, and immunizations. With a population of over 2.3 million, Houston is the largest city in Texas and the fourth-largest city in the United States.
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 Houston Health Dept. data breach notification should take the situation seriously and remain vigilant in checking for any signs of unauthorized activity. Businesses like Houston Health Department are responsible for protecting the consumer data in their possession. If evidence emerges that Houston Health Department failed to adequately protect your sensitive information, you may be eligible for financial compensation through a data breach lawsuit.
When residents trusted the Houston Health Department with their personal information, they assumed that the department would take their privacy concerns seriously. And it goes without saying that anyone would think twice before allowing any organization 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 an organization’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 Houston Health Dept. 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 the Houston Health Department 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 the Houston Health Dept., reach out to a data breach attorney as soon as possible.
If the Houston Health Dept. 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 data breach 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 someone accessed 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, entities 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 organization 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 notice posted on the Houston Health Department website:
Dear [Consumer],
The Houston Health Department is providing public notification of a breach of health information in its COVID-19 test results portal. The incident is not hacking-related and there is no evidence of malicious intent or misuse of the data.
Approximately 3,500 portal users potentially had access to approximately 10,000 COVID-19 test results, including patient names, addresses, dates of birth, email addresses, testing dates, and test results. The portal does not collect social security or financial information.
The health department was made aware of the potential breach on the night of January 6 and the portal was deactivated within 48 hours. A procedure was implemented to notify patients of results by phone and mail outs.
The investigation to confirm the scope of the incident and to acquire resources for notifications took several weeks. The root cause appears to be a technical issue within the portal that erroneously linked some user accounts.
Letters are being sent to the affected individuals notifying them of the incident and providing information about free identity protection services for one year.
People who receive the letters or used the portal and have questions may contact 1-833-599-2432 from 8 a.m. through 8 p.m. Mondays through Fridays except holidays. The hotline is toll free and provides interpretation services.
The department is committed to safeguarding patient privacy and deeply regrets this incident and any inconvenience it may cause. Additional processes have been implemented to ensure this incident does not reoccur.
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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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