In a recent post, we highlighted the need for a privacy and cybersecurity training program, one not solely focused on spotting phishing attempts (although that is quite important as well). A primary reason, quite simply, is that employees continue to be a leading cause of data breaches. This fact was reaffirmed for the Wyoming Department of Health (WDOH) when an employee mistake resulted in the disclosure of nearly 165,000 Wyomingites. And, the risk is only amplified in the current remote work environment.

The WDOH announced on April 27, 2021, that it had inadvertently exposed 53 files containing COVID-19 and Influenza test data and 1 file containing breath alcohol test results. Some of the files had been exposed as early as November 5, 2020, but WDOH did not discover the incident until March 10, 2021. According to WDOH, the files included the name or patient ID, address, date of birth, test result(s), and date(s) of service, but did not contain social security numbers, banking, financial, or health insurance information.

The breach resulted from an “inadvertent exposure” of the files by a WDOH workforce employee who mistakenly and impermissibly uploaded the files to private and public GitHub.com repositories, resulting in disclosure to unauthorized individuals. Notably, WDOH intended GitHub.com, an internet-based software development company, to be used by its employees only for software code storage and maintenance.

It is not clear why the WDOH employee uploaded 54 files containing patient test result data, including COVID-19 test results, to a service intended for the storage of coding data. And, we do not know whether the employee in this case received training on the purpose and use of GitHub.com. However, according to WDOH’s announcement, the files were promptly removed from GitHub.com, the employee was sanctioned, and WDOH retrained its workforce on data privacy and security best practices.

Certainly, mistakes processing personal information are going to happen and no amount of training will prevent all data incidents and breaches. There is no silver bullet. An important question for an organization to ask, however, is whether reasonable steps are being taken to minimize the risk to data, even with regard to inadvertent errors in handling and with regard to use of company systems, among other things.

Training can be one of a number of tools organizations use to create a culture of privacy and security. Increased awareness can help to minimize, even if not eliminate, inadvertent errors. The white paper we provided in our earlier post outlines several considerations for developing a robust program designed to continually remind employees of the vigilance needed to protect personal information from unauthorized access, acquisition, modification, and disclosure. It is and will continue to be an ongoing challenge, particularly in the current environment with workplaces shifting as we emerge from the harshest effects of the pandemic.