LabCorp Diagnostics, one of the biggest medical diagnostic companies in the U.S., disclosed that it was investigating a data breach that may have occurred on their networks.
While LabCorp isn’t a household name, there’s a good chance they’ve handled some of your medical records or those belonging to someone you know. As listed on their website, the company handles “more than 115 million patient encounters per year [and] processes tests on more than 2.5 million patient specimens per week[.]”
While the medical industry has been a consistent and frequent target of cyber attacks, diagnostic laboratories in particular are a particular focus for hackers because of the granular and highly sensitive nature of personally identifiable information in their possession.
“[T]he single largest part of any patient record is almost always diagnostic tests,” said CipherCloud CEO Pravin Kothari, adding that the nature of a widespread network of diagnostic laboratories presents “an increased risk of cyberattacks propagating and moving through this expanded ecosystem.”
LabCorp shut down their entire network while investigating the possible data breach, which it has not yet identified or disclosed.
