Ransomware Attacks Impact First Impressions Orthodontics, Kids First Dentistry & Orthodontics, and Hendrick Health Patients
First Impressions Orthodontics, a subsidiary of Professional Dental Alliance of Connecticut PLLC, experienced a ransomware attack on September 28, 2020 that potentially saw the protected health information of 23,000 patients accessed by the attackers.
Backups were regularly performed and stored securely, so patient data could be recovered without having to pay the ransom. In addition to the 23,000 First Impressions Orthodontics patients, 5,000 patients of Kids First Dentistry & Orthodontics who had x-rays performed at First Impressions Orthodontics were also impacted by the breach.
The types of data potentially compromised included names, addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, contact telephone numbers, Social Security numbers, dental insurance numbers, dental records, dental images, service charge amounts, and payments received for services provided. Patients who only had their x-ray images compromised only had their name, date of birth, and insurance information exposed.
Affected individuals were notified in accordance with HIPAA requirements, but no evidence of data access, theft, or misuse were found. Out of an abundance of caution, affected individuals have been offered a complimentary 2-year membership to credit monitoring and identity theft protection services.
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Suspected Ransomware Attack Forces Hendrick Health into EHR Downtime Procedures
Hendrick Health in Texas has experienced a cyberattack that has forced it to take its IT network and EHR offline while the threat is remediated. The suspected ransomware attack occurred on November 9, 2020 and affected Hendrick Health’s medical center on the main campus and some of its clinics. Hendrick Medical Center Brownwood and Hendrick Medical Center South were not affected by the attack.
Hendrick Health said patient care was not affected and inpatient services were continuing; however, some patients were redirected to alternative campuses for medical care while the attack was remediated, and some outpatient services had to be rescheduled.
Hendrick Health is working around the clock to restore its systems. In the meantime, staff have switched to pen and paper to record patient information. The breach has been reported to the HHS’ office for Civil Rights as involving the PHI of 640,436 patients.
