It’s been a bad few days for consumers’ data. One of the nation’s largest hospital operators, Community Health Systems Inc., said Monday that hackers from China stole personal information belonging to 4.5 million patients. While the data was pilfered between April and June of this year from Community Health System Inc., anyone who was a patient at an affiliated hospital during the past five years might be a victim, the company said. The stolen data includes Social Security numbers, but doesn’t include medical information, according to Community Health. If you want more details, including more on the China connection, see the story I just published over at Credit.com.
The news comes just days after Friday’s announcement that millions of grocery store shoppers were put at risk by a hack at the Albertson’s chain. Impacted brands include Albertson’s, ACME Markets, Jewel-Osco, and Shaw’s and Star Markets. (More details here)
It’s also been a bad few days for Community Health. Earlier this month, the Department of Justice announced the firm agreed to pay about $90 million to resolve allegations that it overbilled Medicare and Medicaid. The firm admitted no wrongdoing.
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