Healthcare tech provider Kannact says data breach impacted more than 100,000 individuals

Portland, Oregon-based healthcare technology provider Kannact said it suffered a significant data breach that compromised the sensitive personal information of more than 100,000 customers.

In a security incident notification, Kannact said that on 13th March, it identified unauthorised access to its internal network and immediately launched an investigation with assistance from third-party cyber security experts to understand the nature and scope of the incident.

A preliminary investigation revealed that the sensitive personal information of Kannact’s customers was affected during the data breach. The compromised information includes names, dates of birth, addresses, phone numbers, social security numbers, driver’s license numbers, and protected health information such as medical diagnoses, treatment, pharmaceutical records, and Kannact IDs.

The company said that not all individuals had their social security numbers and driver’s license numbers impacted.

While Kannact did not specify the number of affected individuals in its data breach notice, a filing with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights Breach Portal states that at least 103,547 individuals were affected in the security incident.

“Kannact is committed to ensuring the privacy and security of all personal information in our care. Since the discovery of the Incident, Kannact has taken and will continue to take steps to mitigate the risk of future issues,” the company said.

“Specifically, Kannact engaged a specialised cybersecurity firm to conduct a forensic investigation to determine the nature and scope of the Incident. Kannact also disabled access to a third-party managed file transfer software, deactivated all related API keys, and is improving our patient data ingestion process.”

Kannact said that it has not received any reports of misuse of the compromised information but the possibility of the same can’t be ruled out. The technology services provider is offering complimentary credit monitoring and identity theft protection services to all affected individuals whose social security numbers and driver’s license numbers were impacted.

“Kannact encourages all members to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud, to review account statements, and to monitor credit reports for suspicious or unauthorised activity.

“Additionally, security experts suggest that individuals contact his/her financial institution and all major credit bureaus to inform them of such a breach and take the recommended steps to protect his/her interests, including the possible placement of a fraud alert on the credit file,” Kannact added.