The HIPAA Journal Breach Incident Score: Analysis & Impact (HIP4392143111025)

In this Rankiteo incident briefing, we review the The HIPAA Journal breach identified under incident ID HIP4392143111025.

The analysis begins with a detailed overview of The HIPAA Journal's information like the linkedin page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hipaa-journal, the number of followers: 5649, the industry type: Hospitals and Health Care and the number of employees: 5 employees

After the initial compromise, the video explains how Rankiteo's incident engine converts technical details into a normalized incident score. The incident score before the incident was 758 and after the incident was 653 with a difference of -105 which is could be a good indicator of the severity and impact of the incident.

In the next step of the video, we will analyze in more details the incident and the impact it had on The HIPAA Journal and their customers.

On 30 October 2025, Tri-Century Eye Care disclosed Data Breach and Ransomware Attack issues under the banner "Tri-Century Eye Care Data Breach and Ransomware Attack (2025)".

On Sept.

The disruption is felt across the environment, affecting Internal network, and exposing Names, Social Security numbers and Dates of birth, with nearly Not publicly disclosed records at risk.

In response, teams activated the incident response plan, moved swiftly to contain the threat with measures like Secured environment, and began remediation that includes Stronger password requirements, More frequent password changes and Reduced access permissions, and stakeholders are being briefed through Website notice (Oct. 30, 2025), Toll-free call center (800-405-6108, Mon-Fri 8 a.m.–8 p.m. ET) and Advisories for monitoring financial accounts/credit reports.

The case underscores how Completed (as of public disclosure), and recommending next steps like Monitor financial accounts and credit reports for identity theft, Place fraud alerts/credit freezes with credit bureaus and Beware of phishing (unsolicited emails/calls requesting personal info), with advisories going out to stakeholders covering Toll-free call center for questions (800-405-6108) and Guidance on fraud prevention and credit monitoring.

Finally, we try to match the incident with the MITRE ATT&CK framework to see if there is any correlation between the incident and the MITRE ATT&CK framework.

The MITRE ATT&CK framework is a knowledge base of techniques and sub-techniques that are used to describe the tactics and procedures of cyber adversaries. It is a powerful tool for understanding the threat landscape and for developing effective defense strategies.

Rankiteo's analysis has identified several MITRE ATT&CK tactics and techniques associated with this incident, each with varying levels of confidence based on available evidence. Under the Initial Access tactic, the analysis identified Valid Accounts: Cloud Accounts (T1078.004) with moderate to high confidence (70%), supported by evidence indicating malicious software infiltration (likely via compromised credentials) and Exploit Public-Facing Application (T1190) with moderate confidence (60%), supported by evidence indicating malicious software infiltration (possible exploit of public-facing system). Under the Credential Access tactic, the analysis identified Credentials from Password Stores (T1555) with moderate to high confidence (80%), supported by evidence indicating stronger password requirements and more frequent password changes (post-breach). Under the Collection tactic, the analysis identified Data from Local System (T1005) with high confidence (95%), supported by evidence indicating exfiltrated files including PHI/PII (SSNs, medical records, financial data). Under the Exfiltration tactic, the analysis identified Exfiltration Over Alternative Protocol: Exfiltration Over Unencrypted/Obfuscated Non-C2 Protocol (T1048.003) with high confidence (90%), supported by evidence indicating pEAR ransomware group... exfiltrated sensitive data (likely via non-C2 channels). Under the Impact tactic, the analysis identified Data Encrypted for Impact (T1486) with high confidence (95%), supported by evidence indicating pEAR ransomware attack (ransomware implies encryption) and Data Destruction (T1485) with moderate to high confidence (70%), supported by evidence indicating exfiltrated files before encrypting systems (possible partial destruction). Under the Defense Evasion tactic, the analysis identified Indicator Removal: File Deletion (T1070.004) with moderate to high confidence (70%), supported by evidence indicating ransomware attack (common tactic to delete logs/backups). Under the Lateral Movement tactic, the analysis identified Remote Services: Remote Desktop Protocol (T1021.001) with moderate confidence (60%), supported by evidence indicating internal network compromise (suggests lateral movement via RDP or similar). These correlations help security teams understand the attack chain and develop appropriate defensive measures based on the observed tactics and techniques.