Advanced Reproductive Health Center Ltd., d/b/a Chicago IVF

The breach at Advanced Reproductive Health Center Ltd., doing business as Chicago IVF in Illinois, was a significant cybersecurity incident that affected nearly 80,000 individuals. Detected in February 2021, the breach involved unauthorized access to a number of administrative files and folders containing sensitive patient data. The compromised information included a wide range of personal, medical, and financial details such as patient names, Social Security numbers, financial account information, treatment information, medical record numbers, and more.

Chicago IVF reported the incident to the Department of Health and Human Services in December of the same year. In response to the breach, the clinic took immediate steps to eliminate unauthorized access and engaged independent forensic investigators to conduct a thorough investigation. Additional security measures were implemented to further secure data access, individual accounts, and equipment.

Chicago IVF offered affected individuals 12 months of complimentary credit monitoring and identity theft protection services. They also stated that they were not aware of any actual or attempted misuse of patient information as a result of the incident. All employees received enhanced training on security practices to prevent future breaches.

This incident is part of a larger trend of cyberattacks targeting healthcare organizations, which often hold vast amounts of sensitive personally identifiable information (PII) and protected health information (PHI). The fertility clinic emphasized the importance of using best security practices, including strong encryption, privileged access security, and multifactor authentication to protect against such threats[1].

Citations:

1. https://www.govinfosecurity.com/fertility-clinic-hacking-incident-affected-nearly-80000-a-18269
2. https://axiawh.com
3. https://www.chicagoivf.com/privacy-policy
4. https://www.humana.com
5. https://casetext.com/case/kacprowski-v-advanced-reproductive-health-center-inc
6. https://www.labcorp.com
7. https://advancedreproductivecenter.com/patient-resources/legal-information-fertility-treatment/
8. https://www.cnn.com
9. https://www.fklmlaw.com/ivf-price-fixing-case-settled/
10. https://www.britannica.com
11. https://www.aclu-il.org/en/news/patient-and-provider-protection-act-illinois-shows-once-again-it-trusts-patients
12. https://www.natera.com/company/careers/job-openings/
13. https://advancedfertility.com/fertility-specialists/eli-reshef-md/
14. https://www.thomsonreuters.com/en.html
15. https://healthitsecurity.com/features/this-years-largest-healthcare-data-breaches
16. https://www.harvardpilgrim.org