Wolverine Solutions Group wolverinesolutions.com Wolverine Solutions Group data breach: what happened and what to do
Wolverine Solutions Group, a Michigan medical billing and mailing vendor, was hit by ransomware in September 2018. Reports say it affected about 700 healthcare organizations. Addresses, Social Security numbers and clinical and insurance details may have been exposed.
View all 13,177 breaches- Breach date
- 23 Sept 2018
- Made public
- 25 Mar 2019
- Data exposed
- Physical addresses, Social security numbers, Health insurance information, Medical information
- Last updated
Reviewed by Anthon Wansland
Head of Product & Co-Founder
Serus is a privacy company with paid tools to find and remove your personal data. This page is free and based on official sources.
What happened
Wolverine Solutions Group (WSG) is a medical billing and mailing vendor. It became aware of a ransomware attack on September 23, 2018, and said its critical operations were back up by November 5, 2018. Ransomware is malware that locks a company's files, and the providers it served treated the data on those systems as potentially exposed.
Because WSG worked for many providers and insurers, the notices came from them, not from WSG. More than 5 months after the attack, DataBreaches.net reported WSG was still notifying more than 700 companies and about 1.2 million patients. Health Alliance Plan, for one, notified more than 120,000 members. Providers said the data may have included names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and clinical and insurance information, and that they had no evidence the data was actually accessed.
If your provider or insurer used WSG, the letter you got named WSG, so check it. A billing vendor holds the details that identity thieves want: who you are, your insurer, your diagnoses and your Social Security number.
California's Attorney General lists the notice under Wolverine Solutions Group, with a breach date of September 23, 2018 and a posting date of March 25, 2019.
Sources checked: databreaches.net, tripwire.com, oag.ca.gov
Last verified against the official page:
What to do if you were in it
- 1
Read your letter and use any monitoring offered
Your provider or insurer should have said what applied to you. The FTC recommends reading breach notices closely and taking free credit monitoring if it's offered.
- 2
Freeze your credit
If your Social Security number was involved, a free credit freeze at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion blocks most new accounts. The FTC explains how.
- 3
Review your insurance statements
Look at explanation of benefits statements for services you didn't get, a sign of medical identity theft. Report it to your insurer and at IdentityTheft.gov.
- 4
Be wary of calls and texts about bills or claims
Billing details make scams about unpaid medical bills sound real. Call your provider on a number you already have.
- 5
Check whether your email or phone is in this and other breaches
Run a free Serus scan. Serus monitors breach databases and the dark web and alerts you when your data appears, so you know what to act on.
Official filings
- California Attorney General , filed 25 Mar 2019
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services , filed 28 Dec 2018 : 1,024,731 people
Timeline
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The breach happened
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Reported to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
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The company made it public
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Reported to the California Attorney General
Frequently asked
Was I affected by the Wolverine Solutions Group breach?
Only if a provider or insurer that used WSG notified you. Check any letter that mentions WSG.
What was exposed?
Providers said it may have included names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and clinical and insurance information. They said they had no evidence it was accessed.
How many people were affected?
DataBreaches.net reported more than 700 organizations and about 1.2 million patients in notices. WSG did not publish one total.
Should I change my password?
Passwords weren't described as exposed. A credit freeze and watching your insurance statements matter more.
Sources
- databreaches.net/more-than-5-months-after-ransomware-incident-wolverine-solutions-group-still-notifying-more-than-700-companies-and-1-2-million-patients/
- databreaches.net/health-alliance-plan-notifies-more-than-120000-patients-of-wolverine-solutions-group-breach/
- tripwire.com/state-of-security/thousands-patients-ransomware-attack-medical-billing-company
- oag.ca.gov/privacy/databreach/list
- consumer.ftc.gov/articles/what-know-about-credit-freezes-and-fraud-alerts
- consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2022/10/have-you-been-affected-data-breach-read
Something wrong or out of date? Tell us and we'll re-check it.
