Providence Home Services Reports Data Theft--365,000 patients effected

Here we have another case of data backup tapes being stolen. This time they were stolen from an employee’s car. This wasn’t a rogue employee, however—certain employees were supposed to take the tapes home every night as part of a data recovery plan. What an utterly foolish idea (obviously), especially when such customer sensitive data was on the tapes. There are plenty of companies that will automate the off-site storage of tapes for you.

Portland, Ore. — Providence Home Services has begun contacting current and former patients following the theft of tapes and disks that hold confidential data. The theft involves the records of some 365,000 patients who received health care through Providence Home Services. Those patients live predominantly in Oregon (83 percent) and Washington (16 percent), with the rest in other states.

Providence Launches Outreach to Home Services Patients After Data Theft.