The Department of Public Health (DPH) under the County of Los Angeles has been involved in a significant data breach affecting potentially over 200,000 individuals, resulting in the unauthorized exposure of personal medical and financial information.
Initial investigations suggest that the breach occurred when hackers successfully obtained login credentials from more than 53 public health employees through a phishing email. The cyber-attack took place overnight between February 19th and February 20th of this year, ultimately leading to the compromise of sensitive details.
The compromised information includes employees’ first and last names, medical histories, treatment details, Medicare numbers, health insurance information, social security numbers, and other financial data.
Upon discovering the phishing attack and subsequent data breach, the Los Angeles County DPH expressed deep concern and committed to taking necessary steps to prevent such incidents in the future. All affected individuals have been notified, and arrangements are being made to provide them with free credit monitoring services for a specified period following the conclusion of the investigation.
In light of this incident, affected individuals are advised to exercise heightened vigilance, especially regarding their digital transactions and credit activities, to promptly identify any suspicious or unauthorized activities.
A phishing email is a fraudulent attempt where an email appears to originate from a legitimate source but is actually designed to deceive recipients into disclosing sensitive information. Such attacks aim to gather credentials and other valuable information that can be used to gain unauthorized access to networks or accounts.
