Major US medical lab operator, Quest Diagnostics, reports cyber breach exposed patient records

Quest Diagnostics, one of the largest medical lab operators in the US, reported that a cyber breach had exposed ‘certain patient records’. They shared the update via a statement on October 22. The Quest Diagnostics logo is seen amid a reported breach impacting patient records. (AP Photo)The company noted that their Quanum Lab Services Manager (LSM) system had been affected by the security breach. This is used by certain clients of Quest Diagnostics to place test orders, receive and look up results. When Quest Diagnostics detected the breach, they reportedly paused access to the system. The incident remains under investigation. “Our core business operations are not impacted and remain up and running. Providers that use direct-customer LIS interfaces or EMRs to order testing from us may continue to place orders through those interfaces, which were not affected. We take privacy and security very seriously and are committed to full restoration of our systems as soon as possible,” the statement further read. Also Read | Major US banks take steps after report claims unvetted AI agents are trying to access accounts: ReportsThe company also noted that services were expected to be restored fully by October 23, and that they were coordinating with appropriate law enforcement authorities over the reported security breach. What data was affected in the Quest Diagnostics breach?As per Quest Diagnostics, ‘some patient data within Quanum LSM was accessed, but other systems were not affected.’ “We are working diligently to investigate the incident to determine the specific data affected. As the covered entity, Quest Diagnostics will make notifications as required by applicable law,” the company stated. They noted that while Patient Health Information (PHI) and Patient Identifiable Information (PII) was part of the unauthorized access, but they were investigating to check which specific data had been affected. “While we are still investigating the extent of the prior unauthorized access to Quanum LSM, the access has been discontinued. Our core business operations are not impacted and remain up and running. Providers that use direct-customer LIS interfaces or EMRs to order testing from us may continue to place orders through those interfaces, which were not affected,” the company added, when speaking of what possible clients could face the impact of this breach. Past security breaches at Quest DiagnosticsThe New Jersey-based company has faced hacks impacting patient records before. In 2016, Quest Diagnostics said data, which included lab results and contact information, of about 34,000 people were exposed in a breach. In 2019, personal information of about 11.9 million Quest patients was impacted after a separate hack at American Medical Collection Agency, which is a billing collections service provider.(With AP inputs)