STOLEN LAPTOP LEADS TO HEALTHCARE DATA BREACH INVOLVING 55,000 INDIVIDUALS IN INDIANA

        Cancer Care Group (CCG), an Indiana oncology practice, has announced a data breach that affected approximately 55,000 individuals, including patients and employees.  CCG has approximately 21 locations within Indiana.  CCG reported that a laptop computer bag was stolen from an employee’s locked vehicle on July 19th.  The data allegedly stored on the laptop computer included patient’s names, addresses, social security numbers, dates of birth, medical record numbers and insurance information.  The laptop also contained similar information for CCG’s employees. 

         The breach once again demonstrates that despite several years of private and public education about securing personal information, breaches are still occurring because of lapse security for laptop computers.  Individuals, businesses and insurers must continue to be vigilant in reviewing and updating all data security procedures, particularly for mobile devices like laptops, as well as their breach response plans.