Search Privacy Violations, Breaches and Complaints
This database was last updated in December 2015 ago and should only be used as a historical snapshot. More recent data on breaches affecting 500 or more people is available at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Breach Portal.
VA Midwest Health Care Network (VISN 23)
Mentioned in a privacy incident report created by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs on April 2, 2012. Also cited in 183 other reports.
Report ID: SPE000000073579, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Reported Entity: VISN 23 Iowa City, IA
Issue:
A VA Clinic medical laptop was left unsecured in a room with public access. The laptop had no VA image, no VA security, and no VA account authentication. The laptop used a generic non-password protected account. The hard drive was unencrypted. The laptop contained 86 patients' records including their first and last name, date of birth, admission date, and last four digits of the social security number. This was reported by VA staff. Update: 04/03/12:The laptop was in a common room for several months. When the laptop was turned on, the clinical application which held the data opened automatically. All 86 patients will be sent letters offering credit protection services.04/17/12:The final count of patients' information stored on the laptop after removing duplicates is 76. Therefore the 76 patients will receive a letter offering credit protection services.
Outcome:
An IT Help Desk Ticket has been entered to have the laptop encrypted, pending installation of the encryption by IT Service Delivery and Engineering (SD&E).