One of the largest hospitals in the U.S., located in Florida, reported that it was hit by a ransomware attack in May, with hackers stealing the personal information of more than 1.2 million patients. Tampa General Hospital has about 7,000 employees and more than 1,000 beds for patients from several counties in the area.
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On Thursday, Tampa Hospital said it detected unusual activity on its network on May 31 and took immediate action to contain it. It said it effectively prevented the encryption, which would have significantly impacted the hospital's systems.
According to a hospital spokesperson, TGH did not pay a ransom to the hackers.
"Fortunately, systems and experienced technology professionals effectively prevented the encryption, which would have significantly impacted the hospital's ability to provide patient care," the hospital wrote in a statement.
They discovered that the hackers were on the network from May 12 to May 30 and had access to the sensitive information of more than 1.2 million people before attempting to encrypt the data after an investigation they conducted with the help of a forensics firm, the Tampa Bay Times reported.
The sensitive information reported includes names, addresses, telephone numbers, dates of birth, social security numbers, health insurance information, medical record numbers, patient account numbers, and dates of services and treatment used by the hospital for business purposes.
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The hospital notified the FBI of the incident and provided information about the hackers. According to its statement, the hackers were unable to access the hospital's electronic medical record system.
Tampa General Hospital said it would contact people who were affected and provide them with free services if they provided their Social Security numbers. The hospital did not respond to requests for comment on the number of people whose Social Security numbers were leaked.
"Patients are encouraged to review their health insurer and healthcare provider statements and contact them immediately if they see any services they did not receive," the hospital said.
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According to cybersecurity expert Dominic Alvieri, the Snatch ransomware group added the hospital to the leak site on Wednesday.
