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Quest Diagnostics data breach: 12 million patients affected

By Craig Johnson
By Craig Johnson

Quest Diagnostics data breach: 12 million patients affected

Nearly 12 million Quest Diagnostics patients may have had their financial and medical information exposed in a data breach, according to security filing.

The personal information was stolen from American Medical Collection Agency (AMCA), a billing collections company that Quest Diagnostics does business with.

Data breach: Quest Diagnostics says 12 million patients affected

We don’t yet know how expansive the breach really is: AMCA also works with various entities, including health insurers.

Here’s what we do know about the Quest Diagnostics data breach

From August 1, 2018 to March 30, 2019, an “unauthorized user” had access to various personal information taken from AMCA’s system, Quest Diagnostics says in the Securities Exchange Commission document.

“The information on AMCA’s affected system included financial information (e.g., credit card numbers and bank account information), medical information and other personal information (e.g., Social Security Numbers),” Quest said in the filing.

Quest Diagnostics says it was notified of the cybersecurity incident on May 14, 2019, by AMCA.

Read more: Steps to take after a data breach

One important thing about this is that Quest Diagnostics says that patients’ lab results were not part of the security breach. The company also said it has taken the following actions:
  • Suspended debt collection business with AMCA
  • Notified health plans that it works with
  • Continues to investigate the breach with all impacted parties

Money expert Clark Howard wants you to know that a big danger with a data breach is the threat of identity theft.

Clark says that one of the best ways to protect your personal information is to freeze your credit. His Credit Freeze Guide tells you how to do just that.

This article was originally published on Clark.com

The post Quest Diagnostics data breach: 12 million patients affected appeared first on Clark Howard.

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