Marietta Area Health Care Inc., dba Memorial Health Systems, Data Breach Prompts Investigation into Class Action Lawsuit

Console & Associates, P.C. Investigates Potential Class Action Lawsuit Following a Major Data Breach at Memorial Health Systems

MARLTON, N.J. - Jan. 26, 2022 - PRLog -- The law firm of Console & Associates, P.C. has announced that it will be initiating an investigation into the recent Memorial Health Systems data breach in hopes of determining whether affected consumers can take legal action against the company in the wake of the breach. If evidence suggests that Memorial Health Systems did not take preventative steps to guard sensitive consumer data from hackers and other cybercriminals, the company may be financially liable to those whose information was compromised as a result of the data breach.

A data breach involves an unauthorized party gaining access to consumer data, usually by hacking into a company's IT network. While a data breach doesn't necessarily mean that the information obtained will be used for criminal purposes, it is a possibility. This is because there is no way to be sure what a hacker plans to do with the information obtained through a data breach, and one of the most common reasons hackers seek out consumer data is to commit identity theft or sell the information to a party who intends to steal consumers' identity.

News of this data breach is still developing, and an investigation into its causes is ongoing. However, the breach raises serious concerns about Memorial Health System's efforts to keep consumer data secure from cyber threats. If it turns out that Memorial Health Systems negligently handled consumer data leading up to the breach or failed to provide the necessary security measures, affected parties may be eligible for financial compensation.

Attorney Richard Console explains, "It's easy to place all the blame for a data breach on the person who hacks into an organization's system; however, this ignores the legal and moral obligation that these companies owe to customers. When someone gives a company their business, they trust that the information in the organization's possession will remain private—and out of the hands of criminals. While protecting consumer data requires a business to undergo some effort and expense, in our current environment of widespread hacking, this is a cost of doing business that all organizations must take seriously."

According to the most recent data breach letter issued by Memorial Health System, on August 14, 2021, the company identified malware on some of the company's servers. Memorial Health System investigated the incident, determining that on or about July 10 through August 15, 2021, an unauthorized party gained access to certain electronic files. This prompted a follow-up investigation revealing that the personal information of more than 216,478 individuals was accessible by the unauthorized party during the breach. This information included consumers' full names and Social Security numbers.

Around January 12, 2022, the Memorial Health System sent out a written notice to all affected parties, informing them of the breach and what they can do to protect themselves. Memorial Health System explains that while there is no indication that the unauthorized party used or intends to use any of the data, affected parties are encouraged to keep a lookout for any signs of identity theft.

Those receiving a data breach letter from Memorial Health Systems should take the following steps to protect themselves:

1. Carefully review the letter sent by Memorial Health Systems;
2. Retain a copy of the data breach notification letter;
3. Enroll in the free credit monitoring service provided by Memorial Health Systems;
4. Change all passwords and security questions to online accounts;
5. Frequently review all credit card and bank account statements for any signs of fraud or unauthorized activity;
6. Monitor credit reports for any unexpected changes or signs of identity theft;
7. Contact a credit bureau to request a temporary fraud alert; and
8. Notify all banks and credit card companies of the data breach.