3,500 Patient Identities at Risk After Genentech Breach

A biotechnology company called Genentech suffered a data breach in August which may have resulted in the theft of information belonging to a few thousand of the million patients who utilize the company's support programs.

The ThreatPost reveals that names, addresses, phone numbers, emails, driver’s license numbers and social security numbers might have been leaked.

The company started sending letters to those involved at the end of September, informing of an attack on their systems.

“On August 17,2011, we discovered that an unauthorized person might have accessed a vendor's computers containing personal information of some people participating in Genentech's patient support programs,” read the letter.

The company that produces and commercializes medication based on genetic data wasn't the only such organization to be hit by cybercriminals and like all the others before, they've turned to an expert firm to help them better handle the situation.

The letter, which was sent by the business in accordance with a data privacy law, assures customers that they'll be providing credit monitoring and identity theft protection insurance to the individuals that might be victims of malicious operations that target their assets.

It is fortunate that only a small amount of information may have been stolen and hopefully Genentech took all the safety precautions required to prevent further incidents.

This only comes to show that you never know when you might end up a victim without your slightest knowledge and that's why it's always wise to perform periodic checks of your financial records. After such an event, it's best to contact the institutions that handle your savings to make sure no illegal operations will take place.

Furthermore, a strong password and enhanced protection of your online accounts could never hurt.

Companies are becoming aware of the dangers involved in handling large amounts of data and that's why they devise ways to protect against threats, while learning how to deal with situations that might affect the well-being of their clients.