Another case of a managed services provider and their client getting into a spat. A Maine consulting firm with a medical data analytics business on April 25 submitted a data breach notification stating that it will notify 1.1 million U.S. residents that hackers compromised identifying data stored by its Health Analytics Practice Group.
Berry, Dunn, McNeil & Parker consultancy blamed their managed service provider, Reliable Networks of Maine, for a data breach. Reliable Networks, however, has denied responsibility, suggesting that the consultancy is trying to control the narrative by casting aspersions.
BerryDunn alleges a data breach occurred due to unauthorized access to Reliable Networks’ systems. However, Reliable Networks disputes this, stating that the breach occurred on BerryDunn’s network and systems and not on any system or network owned or secured by Reliable. Reliable Networks also states that it was not retained by BerryDunn to serve as its cybersecurity protection/prevention vendor, and that the breach impacted none of its other clients.
So far, it’s a war of words on websites.
The primary takeaway remains to have a good contract that defines the engagement. Your dirty laundry gets aired when an incident occurs. The need for thorough risk management strategies that include robust contractual agreements, clear delineation of responsibilities, and comprehensive cybersecurity measures that align with the critical nature of the data handled—especially in sectors as sensitive as healthcare – is apparent here. And this is the real-world result.