Breaches of unsecured protected health information come in a variety of forms including hacking, improper disposal, theft, unauthorized access and loss, to name a few. Desktop computers, laptops, email, network servers, EMRs and portable electronic devices are all potential sources of breaches.
Listed below are the top 15 states with data breaches affecting the largest number of individuals so far this year, according to HHS.
- Tennessee — 4.5 million individuals
- California — 338,700
- Maryland — 214,000
- New York — 97,000
- Indiana — 63,325
- Arizona — 55,207
- Alabama — 49,714
- South Carolina — 38,906
- Illinois — 16,446
- Massachusetts — 15,265
- Colorado — 12,286
- North Carolina — 10,993
- Utah — 9,800
- Kansas — 9,640
- Florida — 9,255