Integrity Transitional Hospital, based in Denton, Texas, reported a hacking incident that may have breached the records of 29,514 patients.

On August 15, the hospital noticed suspicious activity on its network, officials said in a statement. The specific cause of the intrusion was not disclosed.

The hospital receives laboratory specimens from various companies that work with healthcare providers, which are then submitted to laboratories for testing. Officials said data from these exchanges is kept on the network for billing purposes. A forensic analyst determined this was the data breached, in addition to health insurance information and scanned driver’s licenses.

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Social Security numbers, financial data or other account information was not part of the unauthorized access.

Individuals affected by the incident were notified via mail on October 14, and the hospital has set up a dedicated call center for patients to call with questions regarding the breach.

“Integrity is committed to the security of the sensitive information it maintains and is taking this matter very seriously,” officials said. “To help prevent a similar incident from reoccurring, we are enhancing existing security on our systems related to the laboratory information we maintain.” 

 Data breaches and hacking will be among the topics at the Privacy & Security Forum takes place in Boston Dec. 5-7, 2016. What to expect: 
⇒ How to beat back hackers and savvy cybercriminals? Delve into the dark web
⇒ A CISO, consultant, and infosec vendor nail down cybersecurity best practices
⇒ Gone' phishin': Mayo Clinic shares tips for fending off attacks
⇒ Security budgets grow but breaches continue unless hospitals adopt best practices
⇒ Think offshoring PHI is safe? You may not be covered if a business associate breaches data

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