The Kroger Co.

The covered entity (CE), The Kroger Co., reported that its business associate experienced a cyberattack affecting the protected health information (PHI) of 1,474,284 individuals. The PHI involved included names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, addresses, health insurance information, diagnoses, lab results, medications prescribed, and other treatment information. The CE notified HHS, affected individuals, and the media. In response to the breach, the CE provided complimentary credit monitoring and identity theft protection services and discontinued its use of the file transfer appliance that led to the breach. The CE also implemented HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification policies and procedures. OCR provided technical assistance to the CE.