Quest Diagnostics Breach Potentially Exposes Medical Records of 85 Million Americans

Quest Diagnostics, one of the largest independent laboratory companies in the United States, has disclosed a data breach that may have exposed the private medical records of millions of Americans. The company announced that hackers gained unauthorized access to its Quanum Lab Services Manager (LSM) platform.

Quanum LSM is an online system used by doctors' offices, hospitals, and clinics to order lab tests, receive results, and access patient files. Quest Diagnostics serves approximately 85 million Americans, performing over 3,500 different types of lab examinations, including those for infectious diseases, cancer screenings, genetic testing, allergy panels, women's health, and routine blood work.

In a statement released on Friday, Quest Diagnostics stated, "We believe some patient data within Quanum LSM was accessed, but other systems were not affected. We are working diligently to investigate the incident to determine the specific data affected." The company has not yet specified which patient records were compromised or the exact number of individuals impacted by the breach.

The New Jersey-based company is collaborating with external cybersecurity experts and law enforcement agencies to investigate the incident. Quest Diagnostics confirmed that its normal operations have not been disrupted, and healthcare providers can still order tests without using the Quanum system. The platform was taken offline upon discovery of the breach on Wednesday.

This marks the second significant data security incident affecting Quest Diagnostics patients in recent years. In 2019, a breach at a third-party billing company resulted in the exposure of financial and medical information belonging to nearly 12 million people.