On August 9, 2024, Dental Specialists of Minnesota, PLLC d/b/a The Dental Specialists filed a data breach notification with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights after discovering that an unauthorized third party had gained access to employee email accounts. In the notice, Dental Specialists explains that the incident allowed unauthorized third parties to access sensitive consumer information, including names, medical information, health insurance information, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, and financial account information. After completing its investigation, Dental Specialists began sending data breach notification letters to all individuals whose information was affected by the recent data security incident.
If you receive a data breach notice from Dental Specialists of Minnesota, PLLC, it’s important to understand what’s been compromised and what you can do about it. A data breach lawyer can help you learn more about how to protect yourself from becoming a victim of fraud or identity theft, as well as discuss your legal options following a data breach for Dental Specialists. Check out our recent article on this topic for more information. here.
What causes data breaches for dental professionals?
The Dental Specialists data breach was only recently announced, and more information is expected to emerge in the near future. However, documents submitted by Dental Specialists to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights provide important information about what led up to the breach. Dental Specialists also posted a website notice discussing the incident.
According to these sources, on January 23, 2024, Dental Specialists learned that an unauthorized third party may have gained access to multiple employee email accounts. In response, Dental Specialists secured the affected accounts and began an investigation with the assistance of a third-party cybersecurity expert.
Through this investigation, the Dental Profession determined that there was unauthorized access to certain employee email accounts between January 11, 2024 and January 23, 2024. Additionally, the investigation determined that unauthorized third parties may have viewed or accessed information stored within the email accounts.
After discovering that sensitive consumer data was accessible to unauthorized third parties, Dental Specialists reviewed the breached files to determine what information was exposed and which consumers were affected. Dental Specialists completed this process on June 10, 2024. Compromised information varies by individual but may include names, medical information, health insurance information, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, financial account information, etc.
On August 9, 2024, Dental Specialists sent data breach notification letters to all individuals affected by the recent data security incident. These notification letters included a list of what victims’ information was compromised.
More information about Minnesota Dental Specialists, PLLC
Dental Specialists of Minnesota, PLLC is a dental practice based in Edina, Minnesota. Dental Specialists offers a variety of dental services, including endodontics, oral surgery, orthodontics, pediatric dentistry, periodontics, and prosthodontics. Dental Specialists operates over 12 locations throughout the Twin Cities. Dental Specialists employs over 108 employees and has annual revenue of approximately $24 million.
