Southern California Center for Anti-Aging

The Southern California Center for Anti-Aging experienced a data breach on December 9, 2020, reported by the California Office of the Attorney General on February 5, 2021. The incident stemmed from unauthorized access to an employee’s email account, exposing sensitive information. While the exact number of affected individuals remains undisclosed, the breach potentially compromised patient names and limited clinical data. The attack highlights vulnerabilities in email security, particularly in healthcare settings where patient confidentiality is critical. The exposure of medical-related information even if limited poses risks such as identity theft, targeted phishing, or reputational harm to both patients and the organization. As a healthcare provider, the center is subject to strict regulatory scrutiny under laws like HIPAA, making compliance and breach mitigation a priority. The incident underscores the broader trend of cybercriminals exploiting human factors (e.g., weak credentials, phishing) to infiltrate systems. While no ransomware or large-scale data exfiltration was reported, the breach’s focus on employee email compromise aligns with common attack vectors in the healthcare sector, where third-party vendors or insider threats often serve as entry points.

Source: https://oag.ca.gov/ecrime/databreach/reports/sb24-537811

TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/southern-california-center-for-anti-aging

"id": "sou719082025",
"linkid": "southern-california-center-for-anti-aging",
"type": "Breach",
"date": "12/2020",
"severity": "60",
"impact": "3",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with internal employee data leaks"

{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': 'Unknown',
                        'industry': 'Healthcare',
                        'location': 'Southern California, USA',
                        'name': 'Southern California Center for Anti-Aging',
                        'type': 'Healthcare Provider'}],
 'attack_vector': 'Unauthorized access to employee email account',
 'data_breach': {'number_of_records_exposed': 'Unknown',
                 'personally_identifiable_information': 'Yes (patient names)',
                 'sensitivity_of_data': 'Moderate (health-related)',
                 'type_of_data_compromised': ['Patient names',
                                              'Limited clinical information']},
 'date_detected': '2020-12-09',
 'date_publicly_disclosed': '2021-02-05',
 'description': 'The California Office of the Attorney General reported a data '
                'breach involving the Southern California Center for '
                'Anti-Aging on February 5, 2021. The breach occurred on '
                "December 9, 2020, due to unauthorized access to an employee's "
                'email account, potentially compromising patient names and '
                'limited clinical information.',
 'impact': {'data_compromised': ['Patient names',
                                 'Limited clinical information'],
            'systems_affected': ['Employee email account']},
 'initial_access_broker': {'entry_point': 'Employee email account'},
 'references': [{'date_accessed': '2021-02-05',
                 'source': 'California Office of the Attorney General'}],
 'regulatory_compliance': {'regulations_violated': ['Potential HIPAA (Health '
                                                    'Insurance Portability and '
                                                    'Accountability Act)'],
                           'regulatory_notifications': ['California Office of '
                                                        'the Attorney '
                                                        'General']},
 'title': 'Data Breach at Southern California Center for Anti-Aging',
 'type': 'Data Breach'}