Pinnacle Clinical Research Provides Notice Of Data Breach

SAN ANTONIO, Aug. 17, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Pinnacle Clinical Research ("Pinnacle"), a medical clinical research organization specializing in Hepatological and Gastroenterological research is providing notice to individuals impacted by the exposure of certain protected information.

In April of this year, Pinnacle identified suspicious activity in relation to a Pinnacle email account.  Upon discovery, Pinnacle immediately secured the impacted email account and launched an investigation with the help of independent IT security and forensic investigators to determine the scope and extent of potential unauthorized access to the system and any sensitive information. On or about May 8, 2020, the investigation confirmed that there was limited unauthorized access to a single Pinnacle email account.

The information that was subject to an unauthorized access was different in each individual case. The vast majority of cases only included the disclosure of a name alongside lab results; however, disclosed data may have contained other personal information such as names, mailing addresses, telephone numbers, medical history, treatment information, and, in some instances, date of birth and Social Security number.

At the time of this notice, there is no evidence of any improper use of the information exfiltrated in the unauthorized access. Immediate actions were taken to secure the email system and ensure that any further suspicious activity was prevented.  This included resetting passwords on all accounts system-wide and other measures. The problem has been remediated and our email and IT systems are operating securely. As part of our ongoing commitment to the security of sensitive information in our care, we are working to implement additional safeguards and security measures to enhance the privacy and security of information in our systems.

Pinnacle mailed letters to impacted individuals and is providing them with information about how to protect their credit and identity, including offering one year of identity monitoring services at no cost to affected individuals.  Pinnacle is also posting a notice of this incident on its website and informing state regulators if required.  Anyone with questions about this incident is encouraged to visit the Pinnacle website at https://www.pinnacleresearch.com/notification-of-data-breach/  for more information.

Pinnacle encourages affected individuals to remain vigilant against incidents of identity theft and fraud and to seek to protect against possible identity theft or other financial loss by regularly reviewing their financial account statements, credit reports, and explanations of benefits for suspicious activity.

SOURCE Pinnacle Clinical Research