All it takes is one small mistake, and suddenly patient information is all over the Internet. That’s the case right now for Grand Street Medical Associates, after protected health information was left on an unsecured FTP server and leaked, putting personal information at risk.

According to DataBreaches.net, over 20BG of data was leaked. The original intent, it seems, was to transfer old paper records to digital by scanning and uploading them, but in the process, the files were left exposed and unprotected.

And that one misstep had big consequences.

So now thousands of patients have their personal information exposed and released on the net. This includes name, birthdate, addresses, phone numbers, marital information, insurance and billing information, and of course, social security numbers. In other words, literally everything needed to steal someone’s identity and then some. That’s among multitudes of other files containing lab tests, notes on progress, consultations, and more

The files have been secured and Google caches cleared, but it may be too late, and who knows how much damage may already be done.

Remember, it just took one small mistake. One little, careless mistake, storing files on an FTP server that just happened to be unsecured, and now there are identities at risk and damage to contain. Carelessness can be just as dangerous as a planned attack, but the best defense against it is vigilance.

Photo by Presidencia de la República Mexicana