Data Breach at GMA Exposes Medicare Details of 341,650

Greylock McKinnon Associates, Inc. (GMA), a Boston consulting firm, experienced a data breach that exposed the Medicare information of 341,650 individuals. Originally detected on May 30, 2023, the breach resulted from a sophisticated cyberattack targeting sensitive data. Notifications regarding this breach were only sent out as of April 8, 2024.

The compromised information includes not just Medicare Health Insurance Claim Numbers but also social security numbers, names, addresses, and birthdates. This data was originally entrusted to GMA by the Department of Justice (DoJ) for a civil litigation matter. The DoJ has advised victims that they were not the subject of any investigation or associated litigation matters, and that this incident does not affect current Medicare benefits or coverage.

Affected individuals have been provided with 24 months of complimentary access to Single Bureau Credit Monitoring, Single Bureau Credit Report, and Single Bureau Credit Score services.

While the cyberattack was first detected on May 30, 2023, it took until 7 February 2024 for a forensic investigation to confirm what data was stolen in the breach. Despite the sensitive nature of the data, neither the GMA nor the DoJ fall under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). However, GMA is under the jurisdiction of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which has recently taken action against companies involved in data breaches.

The FTC Health Breach Notification Rule mandates that breach notifications be sent within 60 days of discovery. GMA, however, issued notifications nine months later, potentially triggering an FTC investigation. The firm is also facing a class action lawsuit for violating these regulations.

In its notification, GMA states that it’s “not aware of any reports of identity fraud or improper use of the information as a result of the incident.” Customers can contact the firm via a dedicated call center regarding any concerns or to provide additional information regarding the incident for up to 90 days from the date of the notification letter.

There have been a number of high-profile data breaches involving healthcare information over the last year. An incident involving Viamedis and Almerys led to the exposure of the sensitive information of nearly half of France’s population. Cybersecurity researcher Jeremiah Fowler also discovered a non-password-protected database with COVID-19 testing information and personally identifiable information.