Overview
The U.S. arm of Amplifon, the Milan-based hearing aid and audiology company, has begun notifying customers about a data breach earlier this year that included medical information, according to The Record. State breach notices went out the week before publication on November 9.
Timeline
- January 18 to February 8: hackers had access to company files.
- February 11: Amplifon first noticed suspicious activity.
- Early November: notification letters and state filings were made.
Who Is Affected
Texas filings list 85,804 people and Vermont filings list 1,027. Class action law firms claim a total of 1,332,826, but Amplifon has not confirmed that figure.
Data Exposed
- Names
- Driver's license and state ID numbers
- Medical information
- Health insurance data
- Financial information
- Social Security numbers, according to the report
Attribution and Method
The article gives no details on the attack method or entry point, and no hacking group had claimed responsibility at the time of publication.
What Affected Individuals Should Do
- Read the notification letter and enroll in any credit monitoring offered.
- Place a fraud alert or credit freeze with the major bureaus.
- Review health insurance explanations of benefits for services you did not receive.
- Watch for phishing that references hearing care or Amplifon.
The roughly nine-month gap between discovery and notification is a reminder that healthcare breach disclosure often lags behind the intrusion itself.