On October 4, Rainbow Children’s Clinic in Texas notified HHS of an incident affecting 33, 368 patients. Here is their notice from their web site, describing a ransomware incident:
On August 3, 2016, Rainbow Children’s Clinic was the victim of a hacker who accessed its computer system and then launched a ransom ware attack that began encrypting data stored on the Clinic’s servers. The computer system was shut down immediately to prevent loss of patient information, and the Clinic immediately began an investigation. Rainbow Children’s Clinic retained an independent computer forensic expert to assist, and through the investigation, the Clinic discovered that some patient records have been irretrievably deleted. The records that have potentially been impacted may include patient’s names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, and medical information. In addition, the impacted records may also include personal information regarding patients’ payment guarantors, including guarantors’ names, addresses, Social Security numbers, and medical payment information.
Rainbow Children’s Clinic takes the security of its patients’ information very seriously and has taken steps to prevent a similar event from occurring in the future, including strengthening its security measures and ensuring that its networks and systems are now secure.
Notification letters mailed today include information about the incident and steps potentially impacted individuals can take to monitor and protect their personal information. Rainbow Children’s Clinic has established a toll-free call center to answer patient questions about the incident and related concerns. The call center is available Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Central Time and can be reached at 1-844-607-1700. In addition, out of an abundance of caution, Rainbow Children’s Clinic is offering potentially impacted individuals monitoring and identity theft resolution services through Equifax at no cost. Additional information and recommendations for protecting personal information can be found on the Rainbow Children’s Clinic website at www.rainbowchildrens.com.
The privacy and protection of patient information is a top priority, and Rainbow Children’s Clinic deeply regrets any inconvenience or concern this incident may cause.
Thank you,
Rainbow Children’s Clinic
SOURCE: Rainbow Children’s Clinic
How is it that patient records could be irretrievably deleted? Did they have a backup? The notification also doesn’t address whether RCC paid the ransom demand or what kind of ransomware was involved. DataBreaches.net has contacted RCC via email to obtain additional details and will update this post if they respond.