Medical Informatics Engineering, Inc., an electronic medical record service provider, recently disclosed a data breach affecting approximately 4 million individuals. Within days of the disclosure, Medical Informatics was hit with a proposed class action lawsuit alleging that it should be held to a higher standard as its business is based on data security and it failed to prevent the breach. The suit alleges that the information stolen included Social Security numbers and medical information.

The case further complained that Medical Informatics delayed to notify the affected individuals.

This week, in response to the disclosure of Medical Informatics, Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller advised all citizens in the State of Indiana to activate a credit freeze on their accounts through the three credit bureaus. According to Zoeller, the breach, which included 11 healthcare providers and 44 radiology centers, was one of the largest affecting Indiana residents this year, (up to 1.5 million) and therefore, he is urging Hoosiers to pro-actively protect themselves. Good advice.