Notice of Data Privacy Incident - July 2021

Vitreo-Retinal Medical Group, Inc. d/b/a Retinal Consultants Medical Group

Notice of Data Privacy Incident

Vitreo-Retinal Medical Group, Inc. d/b/a Retinal Consultants Medical Group ( “Vitreo”) is notifying certain individuals of a recent event that may impact the privacy of a limited amount of personal and/or medical information. Vitreo is unaware of any misuse of individual information and is providing notice to potentially affected individuals Out of an abundance of caution.

On or about July 12, 2021, Vitreo experienced a service disruption that was determined to be caused by a sophisticated cyber-attack. We immediately launched an investigation to determine the nature and scope of this incident, working with outside cybersecurity specialists to securely restore our systems and determine the full impact of this event on our data. We also notified and are cooperating with federal law enforcement. Unfortunately, the investigation was not able to determine what, if any, Vitreo data may have been accessed or viewed without authorization.

In an abundance of caution, we performed a detailed and thorough programmatic and manual review of the potentially impacted data to determine what, if any, sensitive information may have been accessible to the unauthorized actor at the time of the incident. Upon receiving the initial results of the review on October 19, 2021, we worked diligently to locate address information for the affected individuals and just recently completed that effort.

The types of personal information that may have been accessible to an unauthorized actor include: name, address, date of birth, medical condition or treatment information, medical record number, diagnosis code, patient account number, Medicare/Medicaid information, treating physician name, health insurance information, and username/password. For a limited number of individuals, Social Security number may also have been accessible.

Vitreo takes the security of personal information very seriously. Since discovering this incident, we completed an extensive investigation, working with third-party specialists to assess the security of relevant systems and reduce the likelihood of a similar future event. Vitreo is further committed to integrating additional cybersecurity infrastructure and security measures without negatively impacting the healthcare populations it serves.

On November 9, 2021,we began notifying potentially impacted individuals and regulatory authorities, as required. While Vitreo is unaware of the misuse of any personal information impacted by this event, individuals are encouraged to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft by reviewing account statements and explanations of benefits for unusual activity. Any suspicious activity should be reported to the appropriate insurance company, health care provider, or financial institution. We are also offering complimentary credit monitoring to individuals where required.

Individuals seeking additional information regarding this incident can call Vitreo’s dedicated, toll-free number at 855-675-3131 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. PST. Individuals may also write to Vitreo at 3 Parkcenter Drive, Suite 210, Sacramento, CA 95825. Additional resources available to individuals can be found below.

Best Practices

While Vitreo is unaware of any misuse of personal information as a result of this event, individuals are encouraged to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud, to review account statements, explanation of benefits, and to monitor credit reports for suspicious activity and to detect errors. Under U.S. law you are entitled to one free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus. To order your free credit report, visit www.annualcreditreport.com or call, toll-free, 1-877 322-8228. You may also contact the three major credit bureaus directly to request a free copy of your credit report.

Consumers have the right to place an initial or extended “fraud alert” on a credit file at no cost. An initial fraud alert is a 1-year alert that is placed on a consumer’s credit file. Upon seeing a fraud alert display on a consumer’s credit file, a business is required to take steps to verify the consumer’s identity before extending new credit. If you are a victim of identity theft, you are entitled to an extended fraud alert, which is a fraud alert lasting seven years.
Should you wish to place a fraud alert, please contact any one of the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below.

As an alternative to a fraud alert, consumers have the right to place a “credit freeze” on a credit report, which will prohibit a credit bureau from releasing information in the credit report without the consumer’s express authorization. The credit freeze is designed to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in your name without your consent. However, you should be aware that using a credit freeze to take control over who gets access to the personal and financial information in your credit report may delay, interfere with, or prohibit the timely approval of any subsequent request or application you make regarding a new loan, credit, mortgage, or any other account involving the extension of credit. Pursuant to federal law, you cannot be charged to place or lift a credit freeze on your credit report. To request a security freeze, you will need to provide the following information:

• Full name (including middle initial as well as Jr., Sr., II, III, etc.);
• Social Security number;
• Date of birth;
• Addresses for the prior two to five years;
• Proof of current address, such as a current utility bill or telephone bill;
• A legible photocopy of a government-issued identification card (state driver’s license or ID card, etc.); and
• A copy of either the police report, investigative report, or complaint to a law enforcement agency concerning identity theft if you are a victim of identity theft.

Should you wish to place a credit freeze, please contact the three major credit reporting bureaus listed below:

You may further educate yourself regarding identity theft, fraud alerts, credit freezes, and the steps you can take to protect your personal information by contacting the consumer reporting bureaus, the Federal Trade Commission, or your state Attorney General. The Federal Trade Commission may be reached at: 600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20580; www.identitytheft.gov; 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338); and TTY: 1 866-653-4261. The Federal Trade Commission also encourages those who discover that their information has been misused to file a complaint with them. You can obtain further information on how to file such a complaint by way of the contact information listed above. You have the right to file a police report if you ever experience identity theft or fraud. Please note that in order to file a report with law enforcement for identity theft, you will likely need to provide some proof that you have been a victim. Instances of known or suspected identity theft should also be reported to law enforcement and your state Attorney General. This notice has not been delayed by law enforcement.

If your username and password were impacted, it is recommended that you promptly change your password and security question and answer, as applicable, or take other steps appropriate to protect the potentially accessibly online account information and all other online accounts for which the same username, email address, password, and security question and answer are used,

For District of Columbia residents, the District of Columbia Attorney General may be contacted at: 400 6th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20001; 202-727-3400; and [email protected].
For Maryland residents, the Maryland Attorney General may be contacted at: 200 St. Paul Place, 16th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202; 1-410-528-8662 or 1-888-743-0023; and www.oag.state.md.us. Vitreo is located at 3 Parkcenter Drive, Suite 210, Sacramento, CA 95825.

For New Mexico residents, you have rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, such as the right to be told if information in your credit file has been used against you, the right to know what is in your credit file, the right to ask for your credit score, and the right to dispute incomplete or inaccurate information. Further, pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the consumer reporting bureaus must correct or delete inaccurate, incomplete, or unverifiable information; consumer reporting agencies may not report outdated negative information; access to your file is limited; you must give your consent for credit reports to be provided to employers; you may limit “prescreened” offers of credit and insurance you get based on information in your credit report; and you may seek damages from violator. You may have additional rights under the Fair Credit Reporting Act not summarized here. Identity theft victims and active duty military personnel have specific additional rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act. We encourage you to review your rights pursuant to the Fair Credit Reporting Act by visiting here, or by writing Consumer Response Center, Room 130-A, Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580.

For New York residents, the New York Attorney General may be contacted at: Office of the Attorney General, The Capitol, Albany, NY 12224-0341; 1-800-771-7755; or ag.ny.gov.

For North Carolina residents, the North Carolina Attorney General may be contacted at: 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-9001; 1-877-566-7226 or 1-919-716-6000; and ncdoj.gov.