Cardiovascular Institute of New England Reports Data Breach Affecting Patient and Employee Information
The Cardiovascular Institute of New England (CINE), a seven-location healthcare provider in Rhode Island, disclosed a data breach on July 14, 2026, following an investigation with third-party cybersecurity experts. The incident, detected after unusual activity in its email environment on February 12, 2026, exposed sensitive information, including:
- Personal details: Names, dates of birth, phone numbers
- Financial data: Account numbers
- Medical records: Diagnoses, treatment information, prescription details, clinical data, insurance provider information
Notification letters to affected individuals began on July 28, 2026, though the total number of impacted patients and employees remains undisclosed. Legal representatives are exploring potential class action lawsuits on behalf of those affected, citing risks such as privacy violations, financial fraud, and out-of-pocket costs resulting from the breach.
The incident underscores ongoing vulnerabilities in healthcare data security, with unauthorized access to email systems serving as a common attack vector. Further details on the breach’s scope and response measures have not been released.
Source: https://www.classaction.org/data-breach-lawsuits/cardiovascular-institute-of-new-england-july-2026
Cardiovascular Specialists of New England cybersecurity rating report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/csne
"id": "CSN1785537345",
"linkid": "csne",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "2/2026",
"severity": "85",
"impact": "4",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with customers data leaks"{'affected_entities': [{'industry': 'Healthcare',
'location': 'Rhode Island, USA',
'name': 'Cardiovascular Institute of New England '
'(CINE)',
'size': 'Seven locations',
'type': 'Healthcare Provider'}],
'attack_vector': 'Email Environment',
'customer_advisories': 'Notification letters sent to affected individuals',
'data_breach': {'personally_identifiable_information': ['Names',
'Dates of birth',
'Phone numbers',
'Account numbers',
'Insurance provider '
'information'],
'sensitivity_of_data': 'High',
'type_of_data_compromised': ['Personal details',
'Financial data',
'Medical records']},
'date_detected': '2026-02-12',
'date_publicly_disclosed': '2026-07-14',
'description': 'The Cardiovascular Institute of New England (CINE) disclosed '
'a data breach on July 14, 2026, after detecting unusual '
'activity in its email environment on February 12, 2026. The '
'breach exposed sensitive patient and employee information, '
'including personal details, financial data, and medical '
'records.',
'impact': {'brand_reputation_impact': 'Privacy violations, financial fraud '
'risks',
'data_compromised': 'Personal details, financial data, medical '
'records',
'identity_theft_risk': 'High',
'legal_liabilities': 'Potential class action lawsuits',
'payment_information_risk': 'High',
'systems_affected': 'Email environment'},
'investigation_status': 'Ongoing',
'lessons_learned': 'Ongoing vulnerabilities in healthcare data security, '
'particularly in email systems',
'post_incident_analysis': {'root_causes': 'Unauthorized access to email '
'systems'},
'references': [{'source': 'Cyber Incident Description'}],
'regulatory_compliance': {'legal_actions': 'Potential class action lawsuits'},
'response': {'communication_strategy': 'Notification letters to affected '
'individuals beginning July 28, 2026',
'third_party_assistance': 'Third-party cybersecurity experts'},
'title': 'Cardiovascular Institute of New England Data Breach',
'type': 'Data Breach'}