Posted On February 28, 2023 Consumer Privacy & Data Breaches
February 28, 2023 – Advanced Health Media filed notice of a data breach on February 24, 2023 with the Montana Attorney General’s office after discovering that an unauthorized individual had obtained access to private information saved on the company’s computer network. According to the filing, the breach allowed the third party to access consumers’ complete names, Social Security numbers and other identifying information, and addresses. Upon discovering the leak, Advanced Health started sending notifying letters to all individuals affected by the data breach.
The data breach lawyers at Console & Associates, P.C. are actively investigating the Advanced Health data breach. If you have received a breach notification letter and are interested in learning about what you can do to protect yourself, we are offering free consultations where we can discuss your legal options for receiving compensation from Advanced Health.
Advanced Health Media provides services for the pharmaceutical industry, such as sales force productivity tools, commercial compliance solutions, and meeting logistics. In 2018, Advanced Health Media and IQVIA, a healthcare software company, merged. Together, they provide technology solutions, contract research services, and analytics to the healthcare industry. IQVIA employs more than 82,000 personnel and has an annual revenue of about $8.6 billion.
The available data on the Advanced Health breach is sourced from the organization’s filing with the Montana Attorney General. After detecting suspicious activity in the company computer system on December 16, 2022, Advanced Health started an investigation into the incident to figure out if any confidential data was exposed.
Advanced Health’s investigation revealed that an individual not authorized to use the system had infiltrated it on November 27, 2022. Subsequent investigation revealed that some of the documents accessible to the intruder included confidential consumer information.
Though varying by individual, information leaked includes consumers’ complete names, Social Security numbers and other identifying information, and addresses.
On February 24, 2023, Advanced Health distributed data breach notification letters to all people whose confidential information was revealed due to the leak.
Hackers illegally entered Advanced Health’s computer system, resulting in a leak of information. As a consumer who has relied on Advanced Health to protect your information, there was nothing you could have done to stop the attack. The onus falls to the company to protect you and ensure your confidential information doesn’t fall into the hands of someone looking to commit data theft or fraud.
An investigation is being conducted to determine if any negligence occurred from Advanced Health concerning the breach. Possible areas of negligence could include the failure to train staff to recognize and report phishing attempts or having up-to-date cybersecurity. If any evidence of such negligence comes to light, you may be eligible for financial compensation from the organization.
If you have received a notification of the attack, it is essential that you understand your rights as a victim.
The consumer privacy lawyers at Console & Associates, P.C. help customers affected by data and security breaches pursue legal solutions by offering free consultations. By explaining your rights in clear, concise terms, we help you make an informed decision about your next steps. If you are a victim of the Advanced Health Media data breach, Console & Associates, P.C. will investigate at no charge to you and offer advice on how to proceed. If you decide to pursue a case, rest assured that we don’t get paid unless you do. If your claim is successful, legal fees are either paid out of the funds recovered or by the defendant. If your claim is not successful, you pay nothing.
To schedule your free consultation, just call (866) 778-5500 today or fill out our secure contact form.
Below is a portion of the letter sent to affected individuals:
Dear [Redacted],
We are writing to notify you of an incident experienced by Advanced Health Media (“AHM”), an IQVIA company, that involved some of your personal information. AHM systems are used to process data related to your speaking or consulting anangement(s) with pharmaceutical companies, which we helped arrange or facilitate. We deeply regret that this incident occurred despite our significant and ongoing investment in data security.
This letter will provide details about the incident, explain how we are prepared to assist you, and let you know what steps we are taking to continue to protect your personal information.
What Happened?
On or around December 16, 2022, Al–IM discovered that certain company sewers used to store information relating to speaking and consulting an-angements were accessed beginning on November 27, 2022, by an unauthorized third party. As soon as we became aware of the situation, we initiated an investigation to understand which components of the AHM systems were potentially affected and whether personal information was potentially at issue. Through this investigation and review, we determined that some of your personal information may have been accessed without authorization and acquired.
The privacy and protection of the information in our possession is a matter we take very seriously, and we have worked swiftly to resolve the incident. There is no evidence of any continuing unauthorized activity on AHM’s systems. At this time, AHM has not uncovered evidence that the affected individuals’ sensitive personal information has been used for fraudulent or illicit purposes or has been made publicly available. AHM continues to monitor the situation. This incident did not affect any of IQVIA’s systems, including those used to administer clinical trials.
What Information Was Involved?
The infonnation affected may have included your name, address, Social Security Number, or other identification numbers (such as your driver’s license number). This personal information was used by us for purposes such as: processing payments for speaking or consulting engagements; providing you with tax forms or invoices; and facilitating contracting between you and pharmaceutical companies.
What We Are Doing
Your trust is a top priority for AHM, and we deeply regret the inconvenience this may cause. The privacy and protection of the personal information of the individuals we work with is a matter we take very seriously, and we have worked swiftly to resolve the incident. We have implemented additional security measures, internal controls and safeguards, as well as making appropriate changes to our policies and procedures where needed to prevent a similar occurrence in the future.
