Lab testing giant Quest Diagnostics confirms patients’ personal and health data was compromised during breach

Quest is the latest in a series of healthcare technology companies that have been hacked in recent months. Medical lab testing giant Quest Diagnostics has confirmed a cyberattack and data breach affecting an as-yet unspecified amount of sensitive patient information stored in its systems, according to a legally required disclosure with U.S. regulators. Quest said in an 8-K filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it learned of a cyberattack on Wednesday targeting one of its lab testing systems, Quanum, which allows doctors’ offices, hospitals, and healthcare practices to request lab tests for patients while also handling billing. The platform stores a large amount of patient health and medical records, as well as associated diagnostic and billing data.

The company said the unauthorized access included the accessing of “certain patient records.” Quest said it notified law enforcement and is investigating. The cyberattack on Quest is the latest major cyber incident to affect the healthcare industry this year. A series of cyberattacks and data breaches have sparked weeks of disruption and allowed the theft of millions of patient electronic health records and other medical information. Health tech companies have become a major target for financially motivated cybercriminals, who aim to steal as much sensitive data as possible and threaten to publish it if they aren’t paid a ransom. In