Houston Health Department Suffers Data Breach Affecting 7,445 Individuals
The Houston Health Department, a municipal agency overseeing public health services in Houston, confirmed a data breach impacting 7,445 individuals across the U.S. The incident was detected on December 12, 2025, and formally reported to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on February 10, 2026, as documented in the HHS breach portal.
While the exact scope of exposed data remains unconfirmed, the breach may have compromised personally identifiable information (PII) and protected health information (PHI), including names, contact details, medical records, and health insurance data. The method of intrusion and responsible parties have not been disclosed.
In response, the department published a notice on its website, advising affected individuals to monitor financial accounts, review credit reports, and remain alert for signs of fraud or identity theft. Recommendations included placing fraud alerts or credit freezes with major credit bureaus and reporting suspected misuse to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Given the potential exposure of medical and insurance details, vigilance against healthcare-related fraud was also emphasized. Further details on the breach’s origin and impact are pending.
Source: https://www.claimdepot.com/data-breach/houston-health-department-2026
Houston Health Department cybersecurity rating report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/houston-health-department-city
"id": "HOU1773073699",
"linkid": "houston-health-department-city",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "12/2025",
"severity": "85",
"impact": "4",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with customers data leaks"{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': '7445',
'industry': 'Public Health',
'location': 'Houston, Texas, USA',
'name': 'Houston Health Department',
'type': 'Municipal Agency'}],
'customer_advisories': 'Monitor financial accounts, review credit reports, '
'place fraud alerts or credit freezes, report '
'suspected misuse to the FTC, and remain vigilant '
'against healthcare-related fraud.',
'data_breach': {'number_of_records_exposed': '7445',
'personally_identifiable_information': 'Names, contact '
'details, medical '
'records, and health '
'insurance data',
'sensitivity_of_data': 'High',
'type_of_data_compromised': ['Personally identifiable '
'information (PII)',
'Protected health information '
'(PHI)']},
'date_detected': '2025-12-12',
'date_publicly_disclosed': '2026-02-10',
'description': 'The Houston Health Department confirmed a data breach '
'impacting 7,445 individuals across the U.S. The breach may '
'have compromised personally identifiable information (PII) '
'and protected health information (PHI), including names, '
'contact details, medical records, and health insurance data.',
'impact': {'data_compromised': 'Personally identifiable information (PII) and '
'protected health information (PHI), including '
'names, contact details, medical records, and '
'health insurance data',
'identity_theft_risk': 'High'},
'investigation_status': 'Pending',
'recommendations': 'Affected individuals were advised to monitor financial '
'accounts, review credit reports, place fraud alerts or '
'credit freezes with major credit bureaus, report '
'suspected misuse to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), '
'and remain vigilant against healthcare-related fraud.',
'references': [{'source': 'U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) '
'breach portal'}],
'regulatory_compliance': {'regulations_violated': ['HIPAA'],
'regulatory_notifications': 'Reported to the U.S. '
'Department of Health '
'and Human Services '
'(HHS)'},
'response': {'communication_strategy': 'Published a notice on its website '
'advising affected individuals to '
'monitor financial accounts, review '
'credit reports, and remain alert for '
'signs of fraud or identity theft'},
'title': 'Houston Health Department Data Breach',
'type': 'Data Breach'}