Quest Diagnostics Confirms Patient Data Breach — SkimNews
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- Quest Diagnostics confirmed a cyberattack on its Quanum system, which handles lab test requests and billing, leading to unauthorized access of certain patient records
- Quest Diagnostics filed an 8-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission disclosing the breach and notifying law enforcement while investigation continues
- Quanum, used by about half a million clinicians across North America, stores vast amounts of patient health, diagnostic, and billing data, though the extent of the data taken remains unclear
- Quest Diagnostics did not disclose when the breach began, whether hackers made ransom demands, or what specific data was stolen, but acknowledged protected health information was accessed
- Quest Diagnostics experienced a prior major breach in 2019 when 11.9 million patient records were lost through a third-party billing vendor compromise
- Health tech companies have become frequent targets for cybercriminals, with recent breaches at Stryker, Boston Scientific, CareCloud, Craneware, and McKesson highlighting sector-wide vulnerabilities
Why it matters: Patients lose control over highly sensitive health data that can be exploited for fraud or blackmail, while Quest faces regulatory scrutiny and reputational damage—especially given its 2019 breach—amid rising cyber threats to health infrastructure holding millions of records.
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