Washington University School of Medicine suffers data breach

St. Louis-based Washington University School of Medicine notified patients that a data breach had exposed some of their personal information.

According to Washington University School of Medicine's website, the health system learned that an unauthorized person gained access to certain employee email accounts between Mar. 4 and Mar. 28.

An investigation conducted Mar. 24 was unable to determine whether the individual viewed any of the emails or attachments in the accounts, however, the health system did identify that the emails contained patient and research participant information, including:

In some instances, health insurance information and Social Security numbers were also identified in the accounts.

To be safe, Washington University School of Medicine has begun mailing letters to individuals whose information was identified in the affected email accounts.

The health system did not identify how many patients were affected, but has implemented mitigations such as making enhancements to its email security and reinforcing training with its staff on how to identify and avoid suspicious emails.

The Port of London Authority also has become a victim of a hacker attack and caused the forced shut down of its website.