Add Delaware-based Brandywine Pediatrics, P.A. to our growing list of healthcare entities hit by ransomware. The practice notified patients on December 23 that on October 25, they had discovered that their file server was inaccessible due to a computer virus. They did not indicate what type of ransomware was involved. Brandywine reports that were able…
Category: Health Data
Family & Sports Medicine center patient records remain inaccessible three months after ransomware attack
Add Desert Care Family & Sports Medicine in Casa Grande, Arizona to the list of health facilities who suffered a ransomware attack. But what happened to them has resulted in my updating my worst breaches of 2016 list. On December 20, the center notified HHS that 500 patients were being notified that their server had…
Southcentral Foundation notifies patients after employee email accounts hacked
Southcentral Foundation (SCF) in Alaska recently notified 14,719 individuals after two employees’ email accounts containing protected health information were hacked in October. According to their statement, SCF first became aware of a possible breach on October 18. Subsequent investigation by outside consultants determined that two employee email accounts had been accessed: one was vulnerable from Oct. 17-18, and the…
NH Department of Health & Human Services hacked; 15,000 affected (UPDATED)
Todd Bookman reports: The state’s Department of Health and Human Services says personal information for as many as 15,000 clients has been breached. Names, addresses, social security numbers and Medicaid ID numbers were stolen, with some information posted on social media sites. The agency says a patient at the state-run psychiatric hospital in Concord accessed…
Black market medical record prices drop to under $10, criminals switch to ransomware
Maria Korolov reports: The black market value of stolen medical records dropped dramatically this year, and criminals shifted their efforts from stealing data to spreading ransom ware, according to a report released this morning. Hackers are now offering stolen records at between $1.50 and $10 each, said Anthony James, CMO at San Mateo, Calif.-based security…
Fairbanks Hospital notifies patients after discovering employees could have been inappropriately accessing patient records for years (UPDATED)
Fairbanks Hospital in Indianapolis is notifying an undisclosed number of patients that employees could have been accessing protected health information of patients since at least November 2013 (and possibly earlier). The information that was accessed included current and former patients’ social security numbers, contact information, diagnosis, treatment and health insurance. In a notification dated December 16, the hospital…