Family Dynamics Counseling Services

The Washington State Attorney General's Office disclosed a data breach affecting Family Dynamics Counseling on May 13, 2024, stemming from a hacking incident. The breach exposed sensitive personal and healthcare-related information of an undisclosed number of individuals, including names, phone numbers, addresses, dates of birth, clinical assessments, treatment plans, and other healthcare data. The compromised data poses significant risks, as it includes protected health information (PHI), which could enable identity theft, fraud, or targeted phishing attacks against affected individuals. Given the nature of the exposed records particularly mental health assessments and treatment details the breach may also lead to reputational harm for the organization and emotional distress for patients whose confidential medical histories were accessed without authorization. While the exact scope of the breach (e.g., whether the data was exfiltrated or merely accessed) remains unclear, the potential for misuse of highly sensitive healthcare data elevates the severity. The incident underscores vulnerabilities in the counseling center’s cybersecurity defenses, raising concerns about compliance with HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and other data protection regulations.

Source: https://www.atg.wa.gov/data-breach-notifications | https://data.wa.gov/resource/sb4j-ca4h.json?id=17219

TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/dynamic-counseling

"id": "dyn451082125",
"linkid": "dynamic-counseling",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "5/2024",
"severity": "85",
"impact": "4",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with customers data leaks"

{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': 'Unknown',
                        'industry': 'Healthcare / Mental Health Services',
                        'location': 'Washington State, USA',
                        'name': 'Family Dynamics Counseling',
                        'type': 'Healthcare Provider'}],
 'attack_vector': 'Hacking',
 'data_breach': {'number_of_records_exposed': 'Unknown',
                 'personally_identifiable_information': True,
                 'sensitivity_of_data': 'High',
                 'type_of_data_compromised': ['Personally Identifiable '
                                              'Information (PII)',
                                              'Protected Health Information '
                                              '(PHI)']},
 'date_publicly_disclosed': '2024-05-13',
 'description': "The Washington State Attorney General's Office reported a "
                'data breach involving Family Dynamics Counseling on May 13, '
                '2024. The breach involved a hacking incident that potentially '
                'compromised personal information, including names, phone '
                'numbers, addresses, dates of birth, assessments, treatment '
                'plans, and other healthcare information. The number of '
                'affected individuals is currently unknown.',
 'impact': {'data_compromised': ['names',
                                 'phone numbers',
                                 'addresses',
                                 'dates of birth',
                                 'assessments',
                                 'treatment plans',
                                 'healthcare information'],
            'identity_theft_risk': 'High (PII and healthcare data exposed)'},
 'investigation_status': 'Ongoing (number of affected individuals unknown)',
 'references': [{'date_accessed': '2024-05-13',
                 'source': "Washington State Attorney General's Office"}],
 'regulatory_compliance': {'regulations_violated': ['Potentially HIPAA (Health '
                                                    'Insurance Portability and '
                                                    'Accountability Act)',
                                                    'Washington State data '
                                                    'breach notification laws'],
                           'regulatory_notifications': 'Washington State '
                                                       "Attorney General's "
                                                       'Office'},
 'response': {'communication_strategy': 'Public disclosure via Washington '
                                        "State Attorney General's Office"},
 'title': 'Data Breach at Family Dynamics Counseling',
 'type': 'Data Breach'}