Press Release  AG Campbell Secures $515,000 Settlement with Ambulance Billing Vendor for Failing to Safeguard Sensitive Patient Medical Information

BOSTON — Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell today announced that her office has reached a $515,000 settlement with Comstar, LLC, a Rowley-based ambulance billing vendor, for failing to safeguard sensitive patient information during a March 2022 data breach that potentially affected the Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, financial account numbers, and medical assessment information of approximately 326,426 Massachusetts residents and 22,829 Connecticut residents. The settlement was reached in partnership with the Connecticut Attorney General’s Office, and Massachusetts shall receive $415,000 from the resolution. 

In March 2022, an outside actor accessed, encrypted, and held for ransom certain files and servers maintained by Comstar. In May 2022, Comstar began mailing data breach notices to consumers on behalf of the various entities for which it conducts billing.

The consent judgement, filed in Suffolk Superior Court on January 28, 2026 and which is awaiting court approval, resolves allegations that Comstar violated the Massachusetts Data Security regulations and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) by failing to maintain an adequate Written Information Security Program (WISP) to prevent the initial attack. When implemented, WISPs help to identify and assess reasonably foreseeable risks and evaluate and improve the effectiveness of existing safeguards, including proper employee training and compliance. 

In addition to the $415,000 monetary payment to Massachusetts and a separate payment to Connecticut, Comstar will be required to implement phishing protection software, a vulnerability management program, multi-factor authentication, an asset inventory, an intrusion detection/prevention system, a security incident and event management platform, and security software for laptops and desktops on Comstar’s network. In addition, Comstar will also be required to conduct a security assessment once per year for three years and transmit the findings of those reports to the Massachusetts and Connecticut AGOs.

This matter is being handled by Assistant Attorney General Kaitlyn Karpenko and Chief Jared Rinehimer of the AGO’s Privacy and Responsible Technology Division. More information about the Massachusetts Data Security Law can be found here.

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