Nexa Collections

Top 40 Major Data Breach Fines and HIPAA Violations

In recent years, there have been several significant fines imposed on companies in the United States for data breaches and violations of privacy laws. Here are some notable examples, divided in two sections:

Part 1: Large Corporation Breaches and Fines ( Not HIPAA) 

  1. Equifax (2019): Equifax, a major credit bureau, faced a massive data breach in 2017, impacting the personal information of about 147 million consumers. This led to a fine of $700 million by the FTC in 2019, one of the largest penalties ever for a data breach. The settlement included consumer restitution and funds to improve data security.
  2. Epic Games (2022): Epic Games was fined $520 million by the FTC for violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and for using deceptive interfaces in Fortnite that tricked users, including children. The fine was part of a record settlement involving privacy infringements.
  3. T-Mobile (2022): After a cyberattack in 2021 exposed the personal data of over 76 million people, T-Mobile agreed to a settlement of $500 million. This included customer restitution and significant investment in cybersecurity upgrades.
  4. Home Depot (Ongoing): Home Depot’s data breach occurred in 2014, affecting millions of customers’ payment card information. The breach’s fallout led to more than $200 million in costs, including settlements and improvements in security infrastructure.
  5. Capital One (2021): Capital One’s 2019 data breach affected over 100 million individuals. The company settled a class-action lawsuit for $190 million in 2021, relating to vulnerabilities in their cloud-based system.
  6. Google (2019): Google was fined $170 million by the FTC for illegally collecting personal information from children under 13 on YouTube, violating COPPA. This fine emphasized the importance of protecting children’s privacy online.
  7. Twitter (2022): Twitter received a $150 million fine for allowing advertisers to access users’ personal information under the guise of security, violating a 2011 FTC order about misrepresenting its security and privacy practices.
  8. Uber (2018): Uber paid $148 million in restitution for not reporting a 2016 data breach on time. The breach affected 600,000 drivers’ data, but Uber delayed the disclosure for nearly a year.
  9. Morgan Stanley (2022): Over a five-year period, Morgan Stanley faced a total of $155 million in fines for failing to safeguard personal information, including a $35 million fine from the SEC for improper data destruction practices.
  10. Anthem (2018): Anthem Inc., a large health insurer, settled for $115 million over a 2015 data breach that compromised the personal information of 79 million people. It was one of the largest settlements for a data breach.
  11. Zoom (2021): Zoom was fined $85 million for misleading claims about end-to-end encryption and inadequate data safeguarding, as the company’s popularity surged during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  12. Capital One (2020): In 2020, Capital One was fined $80 million by the OCC for insufficient cybersecurity measures that led to a 2019 data breach affecting millions of customers.
  13. Anthem (2020): Anthem faced an additional $39.5 million fine in 2020 related to its 2015 data breach, penalized by a multi-state coalition of U.S. Attorney Generals for failing to protect customer data.
  14. Yahoo! (2019): Yahoo! was fined $35 million by the SEC for its delayed disclosure of a massive breach that occurred in 2013 and 2014, affecting hundreds of millions of accounts.
  15. AT&T (2015): AT&T faced a $25 million fine from the FTC for data security breaches at call centers in Mexico, Colombia, and the Philippines, which compromised nearly 280,000 customer profiles.
  16. Google (2012): In 2012, Google was fined $22.5 million by the FTC for misrepresenting privacy practices to Safari browser users, marking the largest FTC penalty at the time for violating a commission order.
  17. Uber (2017): The FTC ordered Uber to pay $20 million for misleading claims about its driver background checks and failing to protect user data.
  18. Morgan Stanley (2015-2020): Morgan Stanley was fined for failing to properly destroy data on decommissioned hardware, leading to unencrypted personal data being sold to third parties.
  19. Facebook (2019): Facebook was fined a record $5 billion by the FTC for privacy violations related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal, representing the largest fine ever imposed for violating consumers’ privacy.
  20. British Airways (2021): British Airways was fined $26 million for a data breach that affected 429,612 customers, highlighting the growing impact of GDPR-like regulations on global companies.

Part 2: Recent Medical / HIPAA Breaches and Fines

Here is an expanded view of each of the HIPAA violation cases involving smaller healthcare organizations and medical practices, along with their respective fines:

  1. Melrose Walkefield Healthcare: Fined $55,000 for HIPAA violations.
  2. Memorial Hermann Health System: This health system faced a $240,000 fine.
  3. Southwest Surgical Associates, LLP: Penalized with a $65,000 fine.
  4. New England Dermatology and Laser Center: Incurred a fine of $300,640.
  5. Family Dental Care: Faced a penalty of $30,000.
  6. B. Steven L. Hardy, D.D.S.: Was fined $25,000.
  7. Great Expressions Dental Center of Georgia: Received a fine of $80,000.
  8. Dr. Brandon Au: Settled with a fine of $23,000.
  9. Health Specialists of Central Florida Inc.: Faced a penalty of $20,000.
  10. Banner Health: Fined $200,000 for HIPAA violations.
  11. Lifetime Healthcare Companies: This company was fined a significant amount of $5,100,000.
  12. Renown Health, P.C.: Penalized with a fine of $75,000.
  13. Sharp HealthCare: Incurred a fine of $70,000.
  14. Arbour Hospital: Faced a penalty of $65,000.
  15. Village Plastic Surgery: Was fined $30,000.
  16. AEON Clinical Laboratories: Received a fine of $25,000.
  17. The Diabetes, Endocrinology & Lipidology Center: Faced a fine of $5,000.
  18. Children’s Hospital & Medical Center: Penalized with an $80,000 fine.
  19. Advanced Spine & Pain Management (ASPM): Settled with a fine of $32,150.
  20. Denver Retina Center: Fined $30,000 for HIPAA violations.

These fines demonstrate the serious consequences of non-compliance with HIPAA regulations, emphasizing the need for all healthcare providers, regardless of size, to adhere to privacy and security standards to protect patient information.