An authorized party illegally obtained employee data from California rehabilitation and nursing home health-care provider Magnolia Health Corporation (MHC), after fraudulently posing as the company's CEO in a spoofed email.
How many victims? All MHC employees. The Tulare, Calif.-based company currently operates five facilities. The total number of employees is not listed on the MHC's website, and company executives were not available today for further comment.
What type of information? Names, Social Security Numbers, employee numbers, home addresses, birth dates, hire dates, seniority dates, salaries, job titles and departments, last date paid and place of employment (facility name).
What happened? On Feb. 3, 2016, an unknown perpetrator used MHC CEO Kensett Moyle's email address to request an Excel spreadsheet containing employee information. MHC discovered the breach on Feb. 10 and two days later sent its employees a letter, signed by Moyle, containing details of the attack. The letter is publicly accessible via the Calif. Attorney General's website.
What was the response? MHC contacted the Tulare County District Attorney's office for further investigation. In the letter, MHC also said it is “taking steps to ensure that no unauthorized disclosures will occur in the future,” though no specifics were disclosed. The company has also promised employees one year of ID theft prevention and mitigation services.
Details? MHC also recommended that its employees place fraud alerts on their credit files.
Source: The Calif. Attorney General's Office and HIPAA Journal
