Two Million in Danger of Identity Theft after Records Are Stolen

This may seem ironic following the post regarding data breaches, but this honestly wasn't planned. This particular data theft, though, was of the low-tech variety. According to a recent news report, the billing records of more than two million people was stolen at the University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics. The theft occurred when backup information tapes were taken from a vehicle when a courier failed to take them to a storage center.

The records were said to include the Social Security numbers of more than one million people treated at the university over the past 16 years. It is reported that all those in danger of identity theft would be notified by letter, costing about $500,000 just for stamps and envelopes. The hospital has also pledged free credit monitoring. The courier, as you may have guessed, was fired.

Yes, carelessness with delicate information is costly to everyone involved. There is no guarantee that the thief was able to access the inf0rmation on the device, but that is little comfort to those who trusted the hospital with this information. While the hospital is paying quite a cost to warn its patients, any patients whose data may have been compromised may be paying as well (identity theft can take months or even years to recover one's financial status and credit). We can only hope that everyone was notified before any serious damage was done.