Pennsylvania attorney general investigating massive coronavirus contact tracing data breach

The Pennsylvania attorney general said Wednesday his office launched investigations into a data breach stemming from coronavirus contact tracing efforts that potentially exposed the personal information of over 72,000 people.

“Any allegations of sensitive personal information being mismanaged or leaked is a serious matter. My office has opened investigations into this data breach on multiple fronts and as such we will have no further comment at this time,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said in a written statement shared with Fox News.

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro said Wednesday his office launched investigations into a data breach stemming from coronavirus contact tracing efforts that potentially exposed the personal information of over 72,000 people.   (Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Images)

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The state Health Department disclosed two weeks ago that employees of a contact tracing vendor ignored security rules and created unauthorized documents outside the state’s secure computer systems. Insight Global, headquartered in Atlanta, realized the breach on April 21 and stopped further disclosures of information by April 23, per a company statement.

“We deeply regret this happened and are committed to restoring the trust of any residents of Pennsylvania who may have been impacted. All necessary steps are being taken to secure any personal information, and we intend to learn and grow from this,” the statement reads.

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Insight Global said information comprised of names of people potentially exposed to COVID-19, test results, symptoms, data on household members, and in some instances, email and phone numbers. The breach did not involve Social Security numbers and financial information.

The issue was sourced to some employees who created unauthorized Google accounts to share information, using personal email accounts and thereby leaving patients’ personal information vulnerable.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.