South Texas Oncology and Hematology, PLLC Notifies of Data Security Incident

San Antonio, Texas
South Texas Oncology and Hematology, PLLC (“STOH”) is providing notice of a recent data security incident that may have resulted in unauthorized access of personal information of certain individuals.
Although STOH has no evidence that any sensitive information has been misused by third parties as a result of this incident, STOH is providing notice of this incident out of an abundance of caution. STOH is providing details about the incident, steps taken in response to the incident, and resources available to help individuals protect against the potential misuse of their personal information.

What Happened?

On February 15, 2024, STOH detected unusual activity on its network and discovered that it was the victim of a cybersecurity incident. On February 19, 2024, STOH first discovered that personal information stored on its servers may have been compromised. Upon discovery of this incident, STOH immediately disconnected all access to the network and promptly engaged a specialized third-party cybersecurity firm to assist with securing the environment, as well as conducting a forensic investigation to determine the nature and scope of the incident. The investigation is presently ongoing.

What Information Was Impacted?

Based on STOH’s preliminary findings, information pertaining to some STOH employees, and/or patients was stored on the impacted systems. STOH has engaged a third party to assist with identifying potentially impacted persons and types of information. While the investigation is ongoing, STOH determined this information may include, but is not necessarily limited to, names and medical record information. This process is ongoing and may take some time to complete. STOH plans to notify impacted individuals following the completion of STOH’s investigation as may be required by applicable laws and regulations.

What Remediation Measures Were Taken?

STOH is committed to ensuring the security and privacy of all personal information in its control, and is taking steps to prevent a similar incident from occurring in the future. Upon discovery of the incident, STOH promptly took steps to contain and remediate its impact, including employing appropriate protective and corrective measures to protect the integrity of its systems infrastructure and data. STOH also engaged cybersecurity experts to assist its efforts. STOH’s information technology (IT) team worked to contain the situation and to isolate and rebuild affected machines. Various security tools were updated and new automated protections were built to prevent a similar incident from occurring. STOH’s IT team also restored and verified the integrity of backups for any presence of malware before bringing systems back online. STOH has also reported this incident to the FBI and intends to cooperate with any investigation by law enforcement.

What Steps Can Individuals Take?

STOH would like to reiterate that, at this time, there is no evidence that anyone’s information was misused. Nonetheless, as a best practice, STOH encourages everyone to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud, to review their account statements, and to monitor their credit reports for suspicious or unauthorized activity. Additionally, security experts suggest that individuals contact their financial institution and all major credit bureaus to inform them of any breach and then take whatever steps are recommended to protect your interests, including the possible placement of a fraud alert on your credit file.

Please review the enclosed Steps You Can Take to Help Protect Your Information, to learn more about how to protect against the possibility of information misuse.

If you have any questions or concerns not addressed in this letter, please call (833) 566-8442 (toll free) Monday through Friday, during the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (excluding U.S. national holidays).

STOH sincerely regrets any concerns or inconvenience this matter may cause, and remains dedicated to ensuring the privacy and security of all information in its control.

Sincerely,

South Texas Oncology and Hematology, PLLC

Steps You Can Take to Help Protect Your Information

Credit Reports: You may obtain a copy of your credit report, free of charge, whether or not you suspect any unauthorized activity on your account. You may obtain a free copy of your credit report from each of the three nationwide credit reporting agencies. To order your free credit report, please visit www.annualcreditreport.com, or call toll-free at 1-877-322-8228. You can also order your annual free credit report by mailing a completed Annual Credit Report Request Form (available at https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0155-free-credit-reports) to: Annual Credit Report Request Service, P.O. Box 105281, Atlanta, GA, 30348-5281.

Fraud Alerts:You can place fraud alerts with the three credit bureaus by phone or online. A fraud alert tells creditors to follow certain procedures, including contacting you, before they open any new accounts or change your existing accounts. For that reason, placing a fraud alert can protect you, but also may delay you when you seek to obtain credit. As of September 21, 2018, initial fraud alerts last for one year. Victims of identity theft can also get an extended fraud alert for seven years.

Monitoring: You should always remain vigilant for incidents of fraud and identity theft by reviewing credit card account statements and by monitoring your credit report for suspicious or unusual activity.

Security Freeze:You have the right to place a security freeze on your credit report. A security freeze is intended to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in your name without your consent. To place a security freeze on your credit report, you need to make a request to each consumer reporting agency. You may make that request by certified mail, overnight mail, regular stamped mail, or by following the instructions found at the websites listed below. The following information must be included when requesting a security freeze (note that if you are requesting a credit report for your spouse or a minor under the age of 16, this information must be provided for him/her as well): (1) full name, with middle initial and any suffixes; (2) Social Security number; (3) date of birth; (4) current address and any previous addresses for the past five years; and (5) any applicable incident report or complaint with a law enforcement agency or the Registry of Motor Vehicles. The request must also include a copy of a government-issued identification card and a copy of a recent utility bill or bank or insurance statement. It is essential that each copy be legible, display your name and current mailing address, and the date of issue. As of September 21, 2018, it is free to place, lift, or remove a security freeze. You may also place a security freeze for children under the age of 16. You may obtain a free security freeze by contacting any one or more of the following national consumer reporting agencies:

File Police Report: You have the right to file or obtain a police report if you experience identity fraud. Please note that in order to file a crime report or incident report with law enforcement for identity theft, you will likely need to provide proof that you have been a victim. A police report is often required to dispute fraudulent items. You can generally report suspected incidents of identity theft to local law enforcement or to the Attorney General.

FTC and Attorneys General: You can further educate yourself regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, security freezes, and the steps you can take to protect yourself, by contacting the consumer reporting agencies, the Federal Trade Commission, or your state Attorney General. The Federal Trade Commission can be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580, www.identitytheft.gov, 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338), TTY: 1-866-653-4261. The Federal Trade Commission also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them. You can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement.

Federal Trade Commission - Consumer Response Center: 600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20580;1-877-IDTHEFT (438-4338); www.identitytheft.gov
Arizona Office of the Attorney General Consumer Protection & Advocacy Section, 2005 North Central Avenue, Phoenix, AZ 85004 1-602-542-5025
Colorado Office of the Attorney General Consumer Protection 1300 Broadway, 9th Floor, Denver, CO 80203 1-720-508-6000www.coag.gov
District of Columbia Office of the Attorney General Office of Consumer Protection: 400 6th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001; 202-727-3400; www.oag.dc.gov
Illinois office of the Attorney General - 100 West Randolph Street, Chicago, IL 60601; 1-866-999-5630"www.illinoisattorneygeneral.gov
Maryland Office of the Attorney General - Consumer Protection Division 200 St. Paul Place 16^th floor,www.oag.state.md.us
New York Office of Attorney General- Consumer Frauds & Protection: The Capitol, Albany, NY 12224; 1-800-771-7755; https://ag.ny.gov/consumer-frauds/identity-theft
North Carolina Office of the Attorney General - Consumer Protection Division 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh,NC 276991-877-566-7226; www.ncdoj.com
Rhode Island Office of the Attorney General - Consumer Protection: 150 South Main St., Providence RI 02903; 1-401-274-4400; www.riag.ri.gov