Independent employee-owned dental benefits company Dental Health Services announced a data breach, which involved accidentally disclosing the private information of more than 4,500 members, according to a press release dated July 10 from the company.
On February 7, the company learned that members' personal information, including names, dates of birth, and premiums due, was exposed when it mistakenly emailed monthly invoices to some employer group customers. Though the emailed invoices were encrypted with password protection, the email recipients were sent the passwords in a separate email before the mistake was caught, according to the release.
Due to the nature of the breach and the information, the company, which operates in California, Oregon, and Washington, does not believe any of the information has been misused for identity theft or fraud.
In addition to all recipients confirming the destruction of the mistakenly sent invoices, the company claims it has taken steps to remediate these actions and prevent it from happening in the future.
"Dental Health Services would like to extend sincere apologies to those affected and are committed to protecting the privacy and security of personal information," company representatives stated in the release.
