Lost Hard Drive Exposes Personal Info Of 10K FDNY Patients

NEW YORK — An FDNY worker lost a hard drive containing personal information for more than 10,000 patients, potentially exposing it to the public, officials admitted Friday.

The cache of data includes insurance information, names, addresses, phone numbers, health information related to the reasons for ambulance calls, and the Social Security numbers of about 3,000 people, according to fire officials.

The Fire Department employee uploaded the emergency medical services patient data to a personal hard drive that was reported in missing in March, the FDNY said. The Fire Department sent a letter this week to the 10,253 affected patients and has offered free credit monitoring for those whose Social Security numbers may have been exposed.

"There is no indication that information stored on the device has been accessed, but FDNY has chosen to err on the side of caution and treat this incident as though the information may have been seen by an unauthorized individual or individuals," reads the letter, which is dated Friday.

The worker who lost the hard drive had permission to access patient records, fire officials said, but it's unclear why he or she had them on a personal device. The worker faces disciplinary action as the FDNY investigates that question, according to department spokesperson Myles Miller.

FDNY medics either treated or transported the affected patients from 2011 to 2018, the Fire Department said. It is possible that someone could access the information on the hard drive because the device is unencrypted, according to the Fire Department's letter.

The department learned on March 4 that the hard drive had gone missing from an FDNY facility, the letter says. It took several months for the FDNY to figure out whether patient information was involved in the debacle and identify all the affected individuals, according to the letter.

The debacle comes on the heels of a massive Capital One data breach that exposed the personal information of about 100 million Americans. New York Attorney General Letitia James is investigating that hack.

New Yorkers who think they may have been affected by the breach can call the FDNY at 877-213-1732.