Recently, Suncoast Skin Solutions filed official documents confirming that an unauthorized party encrypted certain documents stored on the company’s system. According to the recent filing, on July 14, 2021, Suncoast learned that an unauthorized party encrypted certain files on the company’s network and may have gained accessed consumer data located. On January 16, 2022, Suncoast discovered the breach resulted in the names and Social Security numbers of 8,099 people being compromised. The data breach lawyers at Console & Associates, P.C. are actively investigating the security breach to determine any legal remedies available to those impacted by the breach.
Cybersecurity events such as the Suncoast Skin Solutions breach have been common over the past few years. In part, this is due to the opportunity the COVID-19 pandemic gave cybercriminals, who eagerly capitalized on the fact that organizations across the country were consumed by pandemic-related issues.
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 will know the reason why a hacker targeted Suncoast Skin Solutions, it is common for hackers and other criminals to identify those companies they believe 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 Suncoast Skin Solutions data breach notification should take the situation seriously and remain vigilant in checking for any signs of unauthorized activity. Businesses like Suncoast are responsible for protecting the consumer data in their possession. If evidence emerges that Suncoast Skin Solutions mishandled your sensitive information, you may be eligible for financial compensation through a data breach lawsuit.
When customers decided to do business with Suncoast Skin Solutions, 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 a company’s data security system as well as its commitment to consumer privacy more broadly.
When a business, government entity, non-profit organization, school, or any other organization accepts and stores consumer data, it also accepts an ethical and 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 Suncoast Skin Solutions 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 Suncoast Skin Solutions 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 Suncoast Skin Solutions, reach out to a data breach attorney as soon as possible.
If Suncoast Skin Solutions 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:
1.) 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.
2.) 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 that contains your personal information. You should also consider changing your social media account passwords and setting up multi-factor authentication where it is available.
3.) 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.
4.) 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.
5.) Regularly Monitor Your Credit Report and Financial Account
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.
Suncoast Skin Solutions (“Suncoast Skin Solutions”) is a dermatology practice that provides surgical, medical, and cosmetic dermatological care to patients through 22 offices located throughout Florida. Suncoast offers customers a variety of services, including skin cancer treatment, Mohs surgery, medical dermatology, and cosmetic dermatology. The company is based in Lutz, Florida.
According to an official notice filed by the company, on July 14, 2021, Suncoast Skin Solutions learned that an unauthorized party encrypted certain files on the company’s network and may have gained accessed consumer data located. Once Suncoast Skin Solutions learned of the possible cyberattack, it initiated an internal investigation. On October 14, 2021, the investigation confirmed consumer data may have been viewed and retained by the unauthorized party.
Upon learning of the extent of the security breach, Suncoast Skin Solutions then reviewed the affected files to determine what information was compromised. On November 8, 2022, the company confirmed that the information may have included certain consumers’ protected health information. While the compromised information varies by consumer, it may include their name, date of birth, clinical information, doctor’s notes, and other limited treatment information. According to one source, approximately 57,730 consumers are believed to have been affected by the breach.
More recently, Suncoast Skin Solutions began sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals whose information was contained in the affected files.
Below is a copy of the initial data breach letter issued by Suncoast Skin Solutions (the actual notice sent to consumers can be found here):
Dear [Consumer],
Suncoast Skin Solutions (“Suncoast”) has become aware of an incident that may have exposed some limited patient data, including names, dates of birth, clinical information, and other limited treatment information. Suncoast takes its patients’ privacy very seriously and has taken steps to notify any patients who may have been affected by this incident. Suncoast sincerely regrets any inconvenience that this incident may cause and remains dedicated to protecting patients’ personal information.
What Happened: On July 14, 2021, Suncoast discovered that some of its systems were encrypted by an unknown party. Suncoast acted quickly to prevent the encryption of all of its systems. Suncoast promptly hired a specialized cybersecurity firm to conduct a forensics investigation to determine the nature and scope of the compromise. The forensic investigation concluded on October 14, 2021. Suncoast then did a preliminary review of their systems to determine if patient information was potentially compromised that concluded on November 8, 2021. Meanwhile, Suncoast is engaging a third party vendor to review the impacted systems in an effort to identify specific individuals whose information may have been impacted.
What Information Was Involved: Personal data including patients’ name, date of birth, clinical information, doctor’s notes, and other limited treatment information may have been viewed by an unauthorized individual. At this time, Suncoast has no reason to believe that any personal information of Suncoast’s patients has been misused as a result of this incident. Out of an abundance of caution, Suncoast notified the patients potentially impacted by the incident.
What We Are Doing: In response to this incident, Suncoast has taken the following steps: engaging a third party vendor to review its cyber security procedures and transferring all of its patient data to an encrypted system.
What You Can Do: Upon discovery of this incident, Suncoast is in the process of obtaining complimentary credit monitoring for certain impacted individuals. Suncoast will contact you by mail if your information was impacted and you are entitled to credit monitoring. Meanwhile, Suncoast refers you to the Additional Important Information section of this letter, which provides you with further information to obtain your credit report, place fraud alerts and freeze your credit.
Suncoast sincerely regrets any inconvenience that this incident may cause to its clients and remains dedicated to protecting their information.
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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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