This February, the email accounts of two Wyoming Medical Center employees were compromised in a phishing scam. A phishing scam is an email that looks like it came from a credible source, and tricks the recipient into providing passwords and usernames in an attempt to access sensitive information. The scam won't work if the recipient ignores the email, and doesn't open any links.
When the two Wyoming Medical Center employees opened the email in a phishing scam, they potentially compromised the information of nearly 3,200 patients.
Matt Frederiksen is the Chief Compliance Officer at the Medical Center. He says its taken nearly two months to dig through the employee's email accounts to determine which patients' information was potentially vulnerable. "We take privacy very seriously. We think it's very important that our patients feel that their information is secure and that they feel safe and comfortable sharing their information with their providers and nurses here at Wyoming Medical Center. And we will continually make improvements to our system to secure their information," Frederiksen says.
Frederiksen says it's unlikely that credit card, social security, or medical records were compromised. "This is very low risk. Even if my own information was included, I would not be worried," he says.
Frederiksen says the Medical Center is looking to further security measures to prevent another breach in the future.
