US Surgeon General Investigating Possible Computer Breach

Unauthenticated visitors to a computer site could have accessed doctors' names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers

The Health and Human Services Department is investigating a possible breach of a computer system holding personal information of more than 6,700 doctors, nurses and other uniformed public health workers overseen by the surgeon general.

Surgeon General Vivek Murthy sent an email this week to members of the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps warning them that unauthenticated visitors to a computer site could have accessed their names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers.

The department says the problem was discovered on Sept. 20, when a user noticed something amiss with the system, which has since been disabled. The information was accessible, but investigators are still trying to find out whether any of it was actually stolen or compromised.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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