Posted On January 17, 2023 Consumer Privacy & Data Breaches
January 17, 2023 – Home Care Providers of Texas, referred to as “HCPT,” filed notice of a data breach on January 13, 2023 with the Texas Attorney General after discovering a security incident in which an unauthorized party gained access to confidential information on the company’s computer network. Information accessed was consumers’ full names, dates of birth, addresses, Social Security numbers, medication information, and diagnosis and treatment information. After confirming that there was a data leak, HCPT sent out notification letters to all individuals affected.
An investigation into the data breach at HCPT is being conducted by the data breach lawyers at Console & Associates, P.C. If you have received a breach notification, your confidential information may not be in the hands of those looking to commit fraud or identity theft. Call us for a free consultation if you’d like to know more about what you should do next, how best to protect yourself in the future, and whether you will be able to pursue a data breach lawsuit against HCPT for financial damages. If you recently received a NOTICE OF DATA BREACH from COMPANY, contact us at (866) 778-5500 to discuss your legal options, or submit a confidential contact form for a free case evaluation.
HCPT is a healthcare company that provides in-home rehabilitation treatment and medical care. Based in Dallas, Texas and registered under the name DPP II, Inc, Home Care Providers of Texas now employs over 350 people and generates approximately $27 million in revenue annually.
The information provided is from the company’s filing with the Texas Attorney General. According to the filing, HCPT discovered encryption on the company’s network on June 29, 2022. The company began working with third-party cybersecurity specialists to investigate the breach and determine if any information had been leaked.
After learning that the consumer data was exposed to a third party, HCPT reviewed the files to determine what information was leaked. While not consistent with each individual, information access included consumers’ full names, dates of birth, addresses, Social Security numbers, medication information, and diagnosis and treatment information.
On January 13, 2023, Home Care Providers of Texas sent out letters to all individuals whose sensitive information had been compromised. According to reports by the Attorney General of Texas, 124,363 people were affected by the breach.
As with most healthcare agencies, people likely had no doubts about handing their sensitive information over to HCPT, trusting the company to keep that information secure. It was HCPT’s duty to ensure that your information didn’t fall into the hands of hackers looking to commit various crimes, such as identity theft and fraud. If throughout the course of the investigation, it is found that Home Care Providers of Texas was negligent in protecting your data, you may be able to pursue a data breach lawsuit against them for compensation for any financial damages incurred as a result of the breach.
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 Home Care Providers of Texas 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 notice posted on their website:
Home Care Providers of Texas (“HCPT”) is committed to our patients, their treatment, and their families – as well as protecting the privacy and security of their personal information. On June 29, 2022, we learned a portion of our network environment was affected by a cyberattack that caused encryption of certain files stored on the network. In addition to encrypting files, an unauthorized party removed a limited number of files from our systems. Upon learning of the issue, we commenced an immediate and thorough investigation, and alerted law enforcement.
As part of the investigation, we engaged leading third-party cybersecurity experts experienced in handling these types of incidents. The investigation worked to identify what individual information, if any, might have been accessed by an unauthorized third party. After an extensive forensic investigation and comprehensive review of all the data impacted, on November 15, 2022, we discovered that certain personal and health information maintained on our systems was potentially accessed by an unauthorized party between June 15, 2022 and June 29, 2022. The information involved includes individual names, addresses, dates of birth, social security numbers, certain treatment or diagnosis information, and certain medication information. HCPT is notifying affected patients via mail about the incident, and including in the communication steps individuals may take to protect the privacy of their personal information.
We remind our patients to remain vigilant in reviewing financial account statements on a regular basis for any fraudulent activity. We also recommend that our patients review the explanation of benefits statements that they receive from their health insurance providers, and follow up on any items not recognized. Please see the “Other Important Information” section below with additional information to help further safeguard your personal data.
As a team of dedicated and caring medical professionals, we understand that healthcare is about people taking care of people. We remain fully committed to maintaining the privacy of personal information in our possession, and upon learning of the event we took immediate action to protect individual health and personal information. We continually evaluate and modify our practices to enhance the security and privacy of personal and protected health information, and are taking measures to augment our existing cybersecurity.
If you have any further questions regarding this incident, please call our dedicated and confidential toll-free response line that we have set up to respond to questions at 1-833-570-2606. This response line is staffed with professionals familiar with this incident and knowledgeable on what you can do to help protect against misuse of your information. The response line is available Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Central Time, excluding holidays.
