Welltok Security Breach Exposes Sensitive Data of Over 8 Million US Patients

Welltok, an enterprise SaaS company in the healthcare segment, disclosed a security incident that affected more than 8 million patients in the US. Related to the MOVEit file transfer cyberattack, the incident exposed personal data of patients associated with several US health plan providers.

In late October, Welltok issued a notice wherein it revealed that despite applying Progress Software-issued security patches and updates, on July 26, 2023, its MOVEit Transfer server was breached.

Upon discovering the breach, the company in assistance with third-party cybersecurity experts launched an investigation that revealed exfiltration of certain patient data by attackers. The compromised data includes, patients’ name, address, phone number, and email ID.

The stolen information varies for each person. For some it includes their Social Security Numbers (SSNs), Medicare/Medicaid ID numbers, or Health Insurance information, while for others, health information like healthcare provider name, prescription name, or treatment code was exposed.

Healthcare providers like Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Corewell Health, Faith Regional Health Services, The Guthrie Clinic, Sutter Health, and more, based in various states including North Carolina, Kansas, Alabama, Michigan, Minnesota, and Massachusetts were impacted.

Additionally, member data of group health plans of Stanford Health Care, of Stanford Health Care, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, Stanford Health Care Tri-Valley, Stanford Medicine Partners, and Packard Children’s Health Alliance was also exposed during this.

Previously, estimates regarding the number of people impacted varied, as the full list of affected healthcare providers or patients was not disclosed by Welltock. However, the data published on the US Department of Health and Human Services breach portal, confirmed that 8,493,379 people were affected in total.

Earlier this year, the zero-day vulnerability (CVE-2023-34362) in Progress Software’s MOVEit file transfer software was exploited by the notorious Cl0p ransomware gang. This attack is said to have affected several corporate and government organizations across the world, resulting in data leaks and ransomware payouts.