Penalty Amount
$4,500,000
Consumers Affected
2,400,000
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, along with New York and New Jersey attorneys general, secured a $4.5 million settlement from Enzo Biochem, Inc. for failing to protect patient health data, resulting in a ransomware attack that compromised 2.4 million patients' information. Enzo must pay the fine and implement enhanced cybersecurity measures including multi-factor authentication and annual risk assessments.
Enzo must pay $4.5 million and adopt comprehensive cybersecurity measures such as maintaining an information security program, implementing multi-factor authentication, encrypting personal information, conducting annual risk assessments, and developing an incident response plan.
In-house legal teams should review vendor agreements (especially those handling health data), customer/patient consent forms, and employee access policies for clauses related to data security, breach notification, and compliance with health data regulations. Specific clauses to examine include data protection standards, incident response timelines, audit rights, and requirements for multi-factor authentication and regular risk assessments. Given the ransomware attack stemming from poor credential management (shared, outdated logins), agreements should be updated to enforce strong authentication practices, encryption requirements, mandatory security training for personnel, and clear accountability for third-party subcontractors.
Entity
Enzo Biochem, Inc.
Also known as: Enzo Biochem
Industry
Healthcare"Enzo Biochem, Inc. (Enzo)"
"$4.5 million"
"failing to adequately safeguard the personal and private health information of its patients"
$4.5M
New York Attorney General Letitia James, along with the Attorneys General of Connecticut and New Jersey, settled with Enzo Biochem, Inc. for $4.5 million over a 2023 ransomware attack that exposed health and personal data of 2.4 million patients, including 1.4 million New York residents. The investigation found Enzo had inadequate data security practices, including shared employee login credentials, lack of multi-factor authentication, no suspicious activity monitoring, and unencrypted personal information. As part of the settlement, Enzo will pay the penalty and implement enhanced cybersecurity measures including MFA, encryption, risk assessments, and an incident response plan.
$4.5M
Enzo Biochem, Inc. agreed to pay $4.5 million and strengthen its cybersecurity practices to settle allegations that deficient data security led to a ransomware attack exposing the health data of 2.4 million patients. The multistate enforcement action was led by New Jersey with New York and Connecticut.
$625K
Connecticut reached a $625,000 settlement with Frontier Communications Parent Inc. over an April 2024 breach in which compromised employee and vendor credentials were used to access internal systems and exfiltrate unencrypted personal information of 58,841 Connecticut residents. The settlement requires Frontier to strengthen its security program, implement specific safeguards and training, and obtain an independent third-party assessment.
$2.6M
Connecticut and New York found that Boston Children’s Health Physicians and its security vendor, XTIUM, failed to use reasonable safeguards, resulting in hackers accessing sensitive personal, medical, and employee information. The companies agreed to pay penalties totaling $2.64 million and implement enhanced cybersecurity measures.
Connecticut joined a coalition of state attorneys general filing a notice in Character Technologies, Inc.’s bankruptcy proceedings, raising concerns about the company’s safety and privacy practices and the sensitive information it holds. The states seek protections for children and consumers if the company’s business or assets are sold or transferred; the filing does not impose a fine or other remedy.
Attorney General William Tong and Consumer Counsel Claire Coleman petitioned PURA to review how Connecticut public utilities use artificial intelligence, citing potential data privacy and cybersecurity risks, algorithmic errors, and misleading outputs. The petition asks PURA to examine utility AI systems, safeguards, vendors, and data security practices; it does not report a finding of violation or an imposed penalty.