New York Oncology Hematology Data Breach

Consumer Protection Lawyers in Buffalo

Faraci Lange, LLP is currently investigating consumer protection claims against New York Oncology Hematology (NYOH), a health care provider based in Albany, which recently notified more than 128,400 of its employees and patients of a data breach that occurred within the organization earlier this year.

If you believe you were affected by the NYOH data breach, contact the Buffalo consumer protection attorneys at Faraci Lange, LLP. Our firm can represent you in filing a claim for damages. We serve clients in Rochester, Buffalo, and throughout the surrounding areas.

Contact us online or call our office at (888) 997-4110 to request a complimentary case evaluation and consultation.

What Is the New York Oncology Hematology Data Breach?

According to a statement released by the NYOH, a phishing cyberattack was discovered in April of 2018 that allowed hackers to gain access to 15 employee email accounts. Phishing is a method of cyberattack that involves sending a fraudulent email intended to deceive the recipient into believing it is from a legitimate source. In the case of the NYOH breach, the affected email accounts potentially contained sensitive information of NYOH's current and former patients and employees.

In this case, NYOH employees were sent a series of phishing emails by which they were convinced to enter their email usernames and passwords on what appeared to be a legitimate login webpage. This allowed hackers to collect these employee credentials and ultimately use them to gain access to the email accounts.

Between April 20th and April 27th of 2018, cyber-attackers accessed 15 of the organization's email accounts. These email accounts were, "typically only accessible for a short period of hours before access was terminated by our IT vendor," according to the NYOH's statement.

What Information Was Accessed?

Once the data breach was discovered, NYOH's IT team took steps to reset user passwords in order to shut down the unauthorized access and a forensic firm was hired to conduct a review of the content of the accounts.

According to the forensic team's analysis, the data breach may have exposed names, dates of birth, home addresses, email addresses, insurance information, as well as medical information such as test results, diagnostic codes, account numbers, and service dates of current and former NYOH patients and employees. Social Security and driver's license numbers may also be at risk in a limited capacity.

Were You Affected by the NYOH Data Breach?

NYOH patients and employees were sent letters in November notifying them of the data breach. If you received a letter or if you are or have been a patient or employee of New York Oncology Hematology before April 27th, 2018, your personal information may be at risk. Please contact Faraci Lange, LLP to discuss if you are eligible for a consumer protection claim.

Call our Buffalo consumer protection lawyers at (888) 997-4110 or contact us online.