Notice of Advarra Data Security Incident

Advarra, a vendor used by the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center (UMGCCC), has provided notice of a data security incident impacting a limited number of study participants who enrolled in research at UMGCCC from 1991-2009. In November 2023, Advarra, which provides information technology services to carry out clinical trials and other research, informed UMGCCC of the data security incident.

Advarra’s security incident was reported to have occurred in October 2023 and involved an unauthorized party gaining access to an Advarra employee’s email account and acquiring a limited amount of Advarra’s data. Advarra promptly contained the incident by disabling the employee’s account and immediately launched an investigation into the nature and scope of the unauthorized access into its systems. Through the investigation, Advarra then conducted a review of the records to confirm the identities of individuals potentially affected by this event. Advarra has since taken a number of steps to enhance its information security. 

After completing what the company described as a thorough investigation, on February 21, 2024, Advarra notified UMGCCC that certain files were accessed that contained individually identifiable information, such as names, Social Security Numbers, and dates of birth of some participants.

This incident did not involve any access to UMGCCC systems, network, or electronic health records.

While Advarra is unaware of any identity theft or fraud related to information acquired in this incident, as an additional precaution it is providing affected individuals complimentary credit monitoring services for 24 months. The identity monitoring services available include credit monitoring, fraud consultation, and identity theft restoration services. 

Advarra takes this event and the security of information in its care seriously and stated it is very sorry for any inconvenience this incident has caused study participants. If you have any questions or would like to receive information about the complimentary credit monitoring activities, assistance is available by calling (866)-983-9303, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Eastern time (excluding holidays).

If you were enrolled as a study participant at UMGCCC and want to know if your information was affected by this incident, please contact Advarra at (866) 983-9303.