Warby Parker Inc. (f/k/a JAND Inc. d/b/a Warby Parker)

About this report

Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office for Civil Rights (OCR) announced a $1,500,000 civil money penalty against Warby Parker, Inc., a manufacturer and online retailer of prescription and non-prescription eyewear, concerning violations of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Security Rule, following the receipt of a breach report regarding the unauthorized access by one or more third parties to customer accounts. OCR enforces the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules (the HIPAA Rules), which set forth the requirements that covered entities (health plans, health care clearinghouses, and most health care providers), and business associates must follow to protect the privacy and security of protected health information (PHI). The HIPAA Security Rule establishes national standards to protect individuals' electronic PHI (ePHI) that is created, received, used, disclosed, maintained, or transmitted by a covered entity. It also requires appropriate administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, availability, and security of ePHI. The civil money penalty resolves OCR’s investigation concerning this breach investigation. “Identifying and addressing potential risks and vulnerabilities to electronic protected health information is necessary for effective cybersecurity and compliance with the HIPAA Security Rule,” said OCR Acting Director Anthony Archeval. “Protecting individuals’ electronic health information means regulated entities need to be vigilant in implementing and complying with the Security Rule requirements before they experience a breach.” In December 2018, OCR initiated an investigation following receipt of a breach report filed by Warby Parker. The report stated that in November 2018, Warby Parker became aware of unusual, attempted log-in activity on its website. Warby Parker reported that between September 25, 2018, and November 30, 2018, unauthorized third parties gained access to Warby Parker customer accounts by using usernames and passwords obtained from other, unrelated websites that were presumably breached. This type of cyberattack is often referred to as “credential stuffing”. In September 2020, Warby Parker filed an addendum to its December 2018 breach report, updating the number of individuals affected by the breach to 197,986. The compromised ePHI included customer names, mailing addresses, email addresses, certain payment card information, and eyewear prescription information. Warby Parker also filed subsequent breach reports (each breach report affecting fewer than 500 persons) in April 2020, and June 2022, following similar attacks. OCR’s investigation found evidence of three violations of the HIPAA Security Rule, including a failure to conduct an accurate and thorough risk analysis to identify the potential risks and vulnerabilities to ePHI in Warby Parker’s systems, a failure to implement security measures sufficient to reduce the risks and vulnerabilities to ePHI to a reasonable and appropriate level, and a failure to implement procedures to regularly review records of information system activity. In September 2024, OCR issued a Notice of Proposed Determination seeking to impose a $1,500,000 civil money penalty. Warby Parker waived its right to a hearing and did not contest OCR’s imposition of a civil money penalty. Accordingly, in December 2024, OCR imposed a civil money penalty of $1,500,000.

Summary as published by the HHS Office for Civil Rights.