Recently, Grandison Management confirmed a data breach resulting in the personal and protected health information of certain individuals being compromised.
If you received a data breach notification, it is essential you understand what is at risk. The data breach lawyers at Console & Associates, P.C. are actively investigating the Grandison Management data breach on behalf of people whose information was exposed. As a part of this investigation, we are providing free consultations to anyone affected by the breach who is interested in learning more about the risks of identity theft, what they can do to protect themselves, and what their legal options may be to obtain compensation from Grandison Management.
Last year, 1,862 data breaches affected more than 189 million people. On average, victims of identity theft spend 200 hours and over $1,300 recovering their identity. Many victims also suffer emotional distress, credit damage, and may even end up with a criminal record. Taking immediate action is the best way to prevent the worst consequences of a data breach.
What We Know So Far About the Grandison Management Data Breach
According to an official filing by the company, and May 17, 2021, Grandison Management detected unauthorized access on its computer systems. In response, the company secured its network and launched an investigation into the incident. This investigation revealed that the unauthorized party was able to access the personal and healthcare-related information of certain individuals on May 15, 2021.
On February 8, 2022, Grandison Management began sending out data breach notification letters to all individuals whose information was compromised as a result of the recent data security incident.
Grandison Management is a New Jersey-based healthcare staffing company that also operates Towne Home Care, a home healthcare staffing agency. Grandison Management also works with caregivers from overseas, helping them through the immigration process. The company is based in Howell, New Jersey, and generates approximately $62 million in annual revenue.
More About the Causes and Risks of Data Breaches
Often, data breaches are the result of a hacker gaining unauthorized access to a company’s computer systems with the intention of obtaining sensitive consumer information. While no one can know the reason why a hacker targeted Grandison Management, it is common for hackers and other criminals to identify those companies believed to have weak data security systems or vulnerabilities in their networks.
Once a cybercriminal gains access to a computer network, they can then access and remove any data stored on the compromised servers. While in most cases a company experiencing a data breach can identify which files were accessible, there may be no way for the company to tell which files the hacker actually accessed or whether they removed any data.
While the fact that your information was compromised in a data breach does not necessarily mean it will be used for criminal purposes, being the victim of a data breach puts your sensitive data in the hands of an unauthorized person. As a result, you are at an increased risk of identity theft and other frauds, and criminal use of your information is a possibility that should not be ignored.
Given this reality, individuals who receive a Grandison Management data breach notification should take the situation seriously and remain vigilant in checking for any signs of unauthorized activity. Businesses like Grandison Management are responsible for protecting the consumer data in their possession. If evidence emerges that Grandison Management failed to adequately protect your sensitive information, you may be eligible for financial compensation through a data breach lawsuit.
What Are Consumers’ Remedies in the Wake of the Grandison Management Data Breach?
When customers decided to do business with Grandison Management, they assumed that the company would take their privacy concerns seriously. And it goes without saying that consumers would think twice before giving a company access to their information if they knew it wasn’t going to be secure. Thus, data breaches such as this one raise questions about the adequacy of a company’s data security system
When a business, government entity, non-profit organization, school, or any other organization accepts and stores consumer data, it also accepts a legal obligation to ensure this information remains private. The United States data breach laws allow consumers to pursue civil data breach claims against organizations that fail to protect their information.
Of course, given the recency of the Grandison Management data breach, the investigation into the incident is still in its early stages. And, as of right now, there is not yet any evidence suggesting Grandison Management is legally responsible for the breach. However, that could change as additional information about the breach and its causes is revealed.
If you have questions about your ability to bring a data breach class action lawsuit against Grandison Management, reach out to a data breach attorney as soon as possible.
What Should You Do if You Receive a Grandison Management Data Breach Notification?
If Grandison Management sends you a data breach notification letter, you are among those whose information was compromised in the recent breach. While this isn’t a time to panic, the situation warrants your attention. Below are a few important steps you can take to protect yourself from identity theft and other fraudulent activity:
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Identify What Information Was Compromised: The first thing to do after learning of a data breach is to carefully review the data breach letter sent. The letter will tell you what information of yours was accessible to the unauthorized party. Be sure to make a copy of the letter and keep it for your records. If you have trouble understanding the letter or what steps you can take to protect yourself, a data breach lawyer can help.
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Limit Future Access to Your Accounts: Once you determine what information of yours was affected by the breach, the safest play is to assume that the hacker orchestrating the attack stole your data. While this may not be the case, it’s better to be safe than sorry. To prevent future access to your accounts, you should change all passwords and security questions for any online account. This includes online banking accounts, credit card accounts, online shopping accounts, and any other account containing your personal information. You should also consider changing your social media account passwords and setting up multi-factor authentication where it is available.
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Protect Your Credit and Your Financial Accounts: After a data breach, companies often provide affected parties with free credit monitoring services. Signing up for the free credit monitoring offers some significant protections and doesn’t impact any of your rights to pursue a data breach lawsuit against the company if it turns out they were legally responsible for the breach. You should contact a credit bureau to request a copy of your credit report—even if you do not notice any signs of fraud or unauthorized activity. Adding a fraud alert to your account will provide you with additional protection.
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Consider Implementing a Credit Freeze: A credit freeze prevents anyone from accessing your credit report. Credit freezes are free and stay in effect until you remove them. Once a credit freeze is in place, you can temporarily lift the freeze if you need to apply for any type of credit. While placing a credit freeze on your accounts may seem like overkill, given the risks involved, it’s justified. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center (“ITRC”), placing a credit freeze on your account is the “single most effective way to prevent a new credit/financial account from being opened.” However, just 3% of data breach victims place a freeze on their accounts.
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Regularly Monitor Your Credit Report and Financial Accounts: Protecting yourself in the wake of a data breach requires an ongoing effort on your part. You should regularly check your credit report and all financial account statements, looking for any signs of unauthorized activity or fraud. You should also call your banks and credit card companies to report the fact that your information was compromised in a data breach.
Below is a copy of the initial data breach letter issued by Grandison Management (the actual notice sent to consumers can be found here):
Dear [Consumer],
We are writing in order to inform you of an incident that may have exposed some of your sensitive personal information. We take the privacy of your personal information seriously and want to provide you with information and resources you can use to help protect your information.
What happened?
<> detected and stopped a network security incident on May 17, 2021. An unauthorized third-party infiltrated our network. We immediately shut off access to the network and engaged specialized third-party forensic and technical resources to respond to the incident. <> has secured and remediated its network and the data that we maintain.
What information was involved?
As you know, <> provides health care services. Although we have no evidence that your information was specifically misused, it is possible that during the network compromise your sensitive personal and health information may have been exposed to an unauthorized party, including: <>. We maintain this information on our system for standard treatment and organizational purposes.
What we are doing.
Once our environment was secure, we initiated a comprehensive investigation into the extent of the unauthorized activity. As of this writing, <> has not received any reports of related identity theft since the date of the incident.
To help relieve concerns and restore confidence following this incident, we have secured the services of Kroll to provide identity monitoring at no cost to you for one year. Kroll is a global leader in risk mitigation and response, and their team has extensive experience helping people who have sustained an unintentional exposure of confidential data. Your identity monitoring services include Credit Monitoring, Fraud Consultation, and Identity Theft Restoration.
Visit https://enroll.krollmonitoring.com to activate and take advantage of your identity monitoring services.
You have until <> to activate your identity monitoring services.
Membership Number: <>
For more information about Kroll and your Identity Monitoring services, you can visit info.krollmonitoring.com. Additional information describing your services is included with this letter.
What you can do.
Please review the enclosed “Additional Resources” section included with this letter. This section describes additional steps you can take to help protect yourself, including recommendations by the Federal Trade Commission regarding identity theft protection and details on how to place a fraud alert or a security freeze on your credit file.
For more information.
If you have questions, please call 1-???-???-????, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Central Time. Please have your membership number ready.
Protecting your information is important to us. We trust that the services we are offering to you demonstrate our continued commitment to your security and satisfaction. <> values the security of your personal data, and we apologize for any inconvenience that this incident has caused.
Click Here For The Original Source.
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