Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Breach

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare (DHW) provides healthcare in the form of Medicaid to many individuals throughout the state. The organization also offers other healthcare initiatives and works to help maintain healthy lives for state residents. Through its many programs, the organization maintains huge stores of personal and medical information about patients, and some of that data was just exposed during a breach.

What Was the Breach?

• First and Last Names
• Dates of Services
• Member Identification Numbers
• Billing Code Information

How Did the Breach Occur?

The Idaho DHW breach occurred because a single hacker infiltrated the files of a healthcare provider that takes Medicaid. Once inside the systems of that provider, the hacker was able to gather information about the patients that could be potentially harmful if misused. The attacker was quickly disconnected from the file servers, but not soon enough to prevent information extraction. The FBI was notified of the breach shortly after it occurred.

When Did This Breach Occur?

The breach was detected on April 18, 2023. It was cut short soon after it began but persisted long enough for the hacker to gather personal and medical information about the patients involved.

Who Does the Breach Impact?

This Idaho DHW breach impacted approximately 2,501 patients in the system of the healthcare provider that was attacked. These individuals will receive notices informing them of their potential risks and letting them know they have access to one year of credit monitoring and identity theft protection services for free. They should use these services to protect themselves.

How Many Files Does the Breach Affect?

We don't have a file count for this Idaho DHW breach. We know that personal documents were at risk because of this breach, but the information exposed could have come from a single database or spreadsheet, or it could have been taken from many individual documents.