Empress EMS (Emergency Medical Services), a New York-based emergency response and ambulance services company, has disclosed a data breach that exposed customer information.
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According to the notification, the company was attacked by ransomware on July 14, 2022.
An investigation into the incident revealed that the attacker had gained access to Empress EMS systems on May 26, 2022. About a month and a half later, on July 13, the hackers escaped with “a small subset of files,” a day before the encryption was deployed.
“Some of these records contained patient names, dates of service, insurance information and, in some cases, social security numbers,” the disclosure from Empress EMS states.
"Empress EMS is notifying affected individuals and offering eligible individuals credit monitoring services," the company announced.
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The details of the attack describe a typical ransomware double-extortion incident where cybercriminals steal files , encrypt systems , and then threaten the victim with releasing the data unless a ransom is paid .
The company did not name the group responsible for the attack, but BleepingComputer found that the Hive ransomware gang had prepared a non-public entry for the Empress EMS data leak on July 26.
The ransomware gang removed the relevant entry from its website, but we were able to verify that Hive published the data after checking historical dark web data.
Empress has informed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that the number of people affected by this incident is 318.55. However, there are concerns that more people may be affected .
The notice explains that even those who have not received a letter but can confirm that they used Empress EMS services through healthcare, should contact the company by October 9, 2022, to take advantage of the credit monitoring services.
Empress EMS states that it has strengthened the security of systems and protocols to prevent similar incidents in the future.
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Today, Cole & Van Note, a U.S. consumer law firm , announced an investigation into the incident to explore litigation and potential compensation on behalf of affected individuals.
Information source: bleepingcomputer.com
