The personal health information of 3,000 people was leaked after a data breach at a Georgia program that offers services for seniors.
The breach, which included the health diagnoses of people in the Community Care Services Program, occurred after an email was inadvertently sent to a “contracted provider,” according to the Division of Aging Services. Those affected have been notified per federal policy.
The CCSP is a state-run initiative that aims to help elderly people at risk of nursing home placement remain in their communities.
The issue was resolved, and no other personal information — Social Security numbers, Medicaid numbers, or birthdays — was disclosed in the email, the DAS said in a news release Friday.
“While we are confident that this data breach was limited in nature and resolved almost immediately, we are obligated to ensure that our clients and the public can trust the integrity of our programs,” Georgia Human Services Commissioner Robyn Crittenden said in the release. “We take client privacy very seriously, and it is important that the public is fully aware of this situation and aware of our efforts to prevent such an event in the future.”
The DAS has taken additional security measures since the incident in order to prevent future data breaches, including additional staff training on standard privacy practices, according to the release.
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