The Hospital for Sick Children, better known as SickKids, has revealed that it is affected by the recent BORN Ontario data breach.
The Canadian children's hospital revealed that as part of its operations, it shares personal health information with BORN Ontario. This information "relate[s] to pregnancy, birth and newborn care."
The BORN Ontario data breach affected 3.4 million people and was caused by the exploitation of a known zero-day vulnerability (CVE-2023-34362) in the Progress MOVEIt Transfer software. The ransomware gang Clop is behind the attack .
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SickKids was impacted by the BORN Ontario breach
Shortly after BORN announced the data breach, SickKids revealed that it is “among many Ontario health care providers” that share sensitive information with BORN Ontario. BORN is a perinatal and childhood registry that collects, interprets, shares and protects critical data about pregnancy, birth and childhood.
Due to the breach, SickKids warns that its patients and partners may also have been affected.
“ We are among many Ontario health care providers who share personal health information with BORN Ontario regarding pregnancy, birth and newborn care ,” SickKids says in its disclosure
“BORN collects data from health care providers under the Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA). BORN Ontario uses this information to directly identify gaps in care that affect individuals, link information to appropriate providers , conduct health system quality assurance, and analyze data for emerging trends.“.
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The exposed data from the BORN Ontario data breach includes:
- Full name
- Home address
- Postal Code
- Date of birth
- Health card number
Depending on the type of care someone received, the following data may also have been exposed:
- Dates of service/care provision,
- Laboratory test results,
- Pregnancy risk factors,
- Birth type,
- Procedures,
- Pregnancy and childbirth outcomes
BORN has created a page explaining who is affected and to what extent.
As for SickKids, we don't know any further details about the number of patients and associates affected by the data. However, the hospital is directing users to the BORN website to find out if they have been affected.
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It's worth noting that SickKids may not be the only hospital affected by this incident, as many other healthcare providers are working with BORN Ontario, so we may hear more related announcements in the coming weeks.
A data breach, such as the recent BORN Ontario case, is a serious incident that can have far-reaching consequences for victims, including patients and healthcare providers like SickKids. In the world of healthcare, where data is vital to delivering care and protecting patients, such breaches are particularly concerning.
Source: www.bleepingcomputer.com
