01/30/2022

Data Breach Alert: Marietta Area Health Care, dba Memorial Health System

JD Supra

Recently, Marietta Area Health Care, better known to most as Memorial Health System, announced that the company experienced a data breach stemming from a malware attack on its computer systems. According to a company news release, on August 14, 2021, Memorial Health System discovered the presence of malware on some of the company’s servers. After conducting a follow-up investigation, the company learned that an unauthorized party accessed data on the servers relating to 216,478 individuals.

A data breach occurs when a person, usually a hacker or other criminal actor, breaches a company’s security system and accesses sensitive consumer information in the company’s position. Often, cybercriminals will target a company that they know has weak or outdated data-security technology. Once a hacker obtains information through a data breach, they may use that information to commit identity theft or sell the data to the highest bidder on the black market. Regardless of who ends up with a consumer’s sensitive information, those affected by a data breach are significantly more likely to experience identity theft or fall victim to other potentially serious crimes. Given the risks, it is essential anyone who received a data breach letter from Memorial Health System take the steps necessary to protect themselves from the risks data breaches such as this one present.

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