IBM is notifying customers and users of a Johnson & Johnson healthcare platform that their personal information may have been compromised as a result of a data breach.
IBM explained that it provides services to Johnson & Johnson, which includes managing an application and third-party database for the company’s Janssen CarePath patient support program.
Janssen recently became aware of a vulnerability that enabled unauthorized access to the CarePath database. IBM was informed about the security hole and worked with the database provider to address the issue.
It’s not uncommon for companies to become aware of vulnerabilities causing data exposure. However, an investigation revealed that in this case there was unauthorized access to personal information in the impacted database on August 2.
The affected information includes names, contact information, dates of birth, health insurance data, and medical information. Social security numbers and financial account information was not stored in the database.
The extent of the access could not be determined, but IBM has decided to notify CarePath users and customers whose information was exposed “out of an abundance of caution”, offering them free credit monitoring services for one year.
IBM has not found any evidence that the exposed information has been misused.
It’s unclear how many individuals have been impacted by the incident, but Janssen says on its website that 1.16 million patients in the US were helped through the CarePath program in 2022.
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