Defense Health Headquarters

The breach at the Defense Health Headquarters in Virginia affected at least 1,279 individuals, as reported by the Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). This incident, described as a “hacking/IT incident,” prompted an investigation by the HHS Office for Civil Rights, which has law enforcement powers to ensure compliance with information privacy and security laws. The breach was disclosed on the office’s breach portal website, highlighting the ongoing challenges faced by government agencies in maintaining robust cybersecurity measures.

In a broader context, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) also experienced a significant data breach in 2020, compromising the sensitive personal information of approximately 46,000 veterans. This breach occurred due to a vulnerability in a medical payment application used by community care providers, allowing cybercriminals to expose personal information for more than 46,000 veterans. The breach was facilitated by social engineering techniques and exploitation of authentication protocols, leading to diverted payments intended for community care providers

The VA responded by taking the application offline, initiating an investigation, and offering free credit monitoring services to those affected, especially veterans whose social security numbers were exposed