A recent data breach at Cook County Health exposed 1.2 million patients' sensitive data, underscoring the vulnerability of the U.S. healthcare system and the potential risks to patients when their information is compromised as reported by NBC Chicago. Warnings from experts have highlighted possible harmful outcomes, including medical blackmail and fraudulent medical bills.

As stated in NBC Chicago report, medical information sold on the dark web can fetch ten times the price of stolen credit card numbers. This puts the patients whose data were exposed during the Cook County Health breach in danger of their medical records being exploited.

The unauthorized disclosure of patients' information can lead to medical blackmail. Scammers use access to medical records to coerce victims into paying money. Jake Aurand, a member of the Binary Defense counterintelligence team, suggested that an individual's mental health diagnosis could be leveraged by criminals, pressuring victims to pay to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of their conditions.

Beyond blackmail, the Cook County Health breach also exposed patients to the risk of receiving counterfeit medical bills as per NBC Chicago report. Fraudsters can convincingly demand payments for medical bills, often tricking victims into sending funds to the incorrect account.

The breach at Cook County Health can be traced back to Perry Johnson & Associates (PJ&A), a medical transportation company entrusted with patient records. PJ&A first noticed unauthorized patient data access in April, later informing Cook County Health of the issue in July according to Hoodline.