What to Know – NBC Boston

Quincy, Massachusetts-based Shields Health Care says it is investigating a data security breach that may have impacted 56 health care facilities and their patients.

Shields, which provides management and imaging services for health care facilities, said in a statement posted on its website that it “became aware of suspicious activity” on its network on March 28 and launched an investigation to determine the full scope of the incident.

With help from third-party forensic specialists, the company said it took “immediate steps” to contain the incident and find out how it happened. An investigation determined that someone gained access to some Shields systems and acquired data from March 7 to March 21.

So far, Shields said it hasn’t found any evidence indicating that any information from the incident was used to commit identity theft or fraud. The information could include names, Social Security numbers, dates of birth, home addresses, provider information, diagnosis, billing information, insurance information, medical record numbers, patient IDs and other medical treatment information.

The health care company said its review of the impacted data is still ongoing. Once it has completed its review, Shields said it will be directly contacting impacted individuals so they can take steps to protect their information if they wish to do so.

The breach has been reported to federal law enforcement and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights. That agency reported on its website that 2 million people were affected. An FBI spokesperson said the agency had no comment.

Shields has about 40 locations, mostly in Massachusetts but also in New Hampshire and Maine.

Shields also included a list of dozens of facility partners that may have been affected, including Tufts Medical Center, Central Maine Medical Center and UMass Memorial.

A full list of Shields partner facilities can be found below:

Baystate Health Urgent Care, LLC

Baystate MRI & Imaging Center, LLC

Brighton Imaging Center, LLC

Cape Cod CT Services, LLC

Cape Cod Imaging Services, LLC (a business associate to Falmouth Hospital Association, Inc)

Cape Cod PET/CT Services, LLC

Cape Cod…