Knowles, Smith & Associates d/b/a/ Village Family Dental Provides Notice of Data Security Incident

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Knowles, Smith & Associates d/b/a/ Village Family Dental (“Village Family Dental”), is providing notice regarding a recent cybersecurity incident involving Protected Health Information as defined by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.

Metadata
Provider: 
Business Wire, Inc.Business Wire, Inc.
Retrieved on: 
Monday, April 8, 2024
Information
Tags: 
Professional Services, Health, Security, Technology, Insurance, Dental, General Health, Address, Risk, Patient, Privacy, Protected health information, Holiday, Accountability Act, Person, Medical device
Geotags: 
UNITED STATES, NORTH AMERICA, NORTH CAROLINA
Organisation: 
KNOWLES, SMITH & ASSOCIATES D/B/A/ VILLAGE FAMILY DENTAL
Summary
Key Points: 
  • Knowles, Smith & Associates d/b/a/ Village Family Dental (“Village Family Dental”), is providing notice regarding a recent cybersecurity incident involving Protected Health Information as defined by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
  • Village Family Dental wants to provide patients with details about the incident and let patients know that it continues to take significant measures to protect their information.
  • On February 8, 2024, the investigation revealed that some information Village Family Dental maintains, including data about some patients, was potentially accessed by an unauthorized party.
  • The privacy and security of the patient information Village Family Dental maintains is of the utmost importance and Village Family Dental sincerely regrets any inconvenience this incident may cause its patients.


Knowles, Smith & Associates d/b/a/ Village Family Dental (“Village Family Dental”), is providing notice regarding a recent cybersecurity incident involving Protected Health Information as defined by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Village Family Dental wants to provide patients with details about the incident and let patients know that it continues to take significant measures to protect their information.

Village Family Dental detected anomalous activity on its network on November 17, 2023. Village Family Dental immediately took affected systems offline and engaged third-party cybersecurity specialists to help remediate the issue, restore systems and fully investigate the matter. On February 8, 2024, the investigation revealed that some information Village Family Dental maintains, including data about some patients, was potentially accessed by an unauthorized party. The type of patient information involved includes full names along with one or more of the following: Patient ID number, provider name, address, date of birth, chart number, telephone number and email.

The investigation revealed that the unauthorized party gained access to Village Family Dental’s systems on or around November 16, 2023.

While Village Family Dental has no evidence that any patient information has been misused, out of an abundance of caution, Village Family Dental wants to make patients aware of the incident so they can take steps to further protect their information if they feel it necessary to do so. Village Family Dental provided notification on April 8, 2024, to patients whose contact information it had on file. Village Family Dental also notified and is cooperating with law enforcement in connection to this incident.

Village Family Dental is committed to protecting the privacy of employee and patient data it maintains. Village Family Dental continues to work with cybersecurity professionals to evaluate and enhance practices and internal controls, and is taking significant steps to mitigate the risk to persons impacted by this incident.

Village Family Dental encourages patients to review additional information about steps they can take to safeguard their information available at www.vfdental.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/VFD-Revised-Website-Notice.pdf

If you have any questions regarding this incident, please call the dedicated and confidential toll-free response line at 888-723-2015. This response line is staffed with professionals familiar with this incident and knowledgeable on what you can do to protect against potential misuse of your information. The response line is available 9:00am to 9:00pm ET, Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.

The privacy and security of the patient information Village Family Dental maintains is of the utmost importance and Village Family Dental sincerely regrets any inconvenience this incident may cause its patients.

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