14 DAY TRIAL // Personal details of patients of the Veterans Affairs Long Beach Hospital have been found in a dumpster near the medical institution, one of the patients says.
According to army veteran Paul Nguyen, who receives treatment at the aforementioned medical facility, he wanted to throw some trash from his pocket on Thursday when he noticed that the dumpster contained a bunch of files.
Folders contained SSNs and even death certificates
ABC7 reports that the files included patient records with personal information like full names, social security numbers, dates of birth, and even death certificates.
It is unclear if other type of information was available, but it is very likely that addresses and medical history were also included.
Considering the place they were found, ill-intended actors may have found the files and used the info to perpetrate digital crimes, such as applying for credit in the name of the victims.
After seeing the files, 33-year-old Nguyen called a Veterans Affairs employee, who took the appropriate steps to have the information taken to a safe location.
Investigators try to determine the circumstances of the incident
Patient data is extremely important as it holds details that can identify individuals. Dumpster-diving was never an efficient method to collect information, but in this case, any passer-by curious to see what a box of folders contains could have easily taken the data.
Sensitive information has to be disposed of in a manner that does not jeopardize the privacy of the individuals, the law specifies.
An investigation has been started in order to determine the exact details that have been exposed, as well as how the entire incident occurred. Furthermore, authorities are trying to establish the measures that can be taken so that such events do not happen in the future.
“Any breach of patient information is unacceptable and we will move aggressively to correct this issue,” Veterans Affairs officials said in a statement to the news publication.