More than 437,000 patients were affected by a recently disclosed data breach, according to what the nonprofit healthcare system Ascension Health to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
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The incident did not involve Ascension Health's own systems, but a business partner to whom Ascension was inadvertently exposed, disclosing patient data, the organization said about two weeks ago.
According to Ascension, the data was stolen when hackers exploited a vulnerability in third-party software the partner was using.
Based on the description of the incident and the fact that it occurred in early December, it is likely that the information was stolen during the cyberattack on the Cleo file transfer platform, in which the Cl0p ransomware stole data from multiple companies, including Hertz Corporation and Western Alliance Bank.
In disclosing the data breach, Ascension Health said the information involved its facilities in Alabama, Michigan, Indiana, Tennessee and Texas, but did not disclose details about the number of people potentially affected.
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However, a Friday update to registry shows that hackers stole the information of 437,329 Ascension patients.
The exposed data includes names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers, social security numbers, diagnostic and health insurance information, as well as other personal information.
Ascension is providing affected individuals with 24 months of free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services
While the number of people affected is significant, this particular incident pales in size compared to the May 2024 data breach, which Ascension Health disclosed following a ransomware attack by the BlackBasta, which affected 5.6 million people.
See also: Insight Partners: Data breach following cyberattack
A major issue highlighted by the above incidents is the increasing vulnerability of the healthcare sector to cyberattacks .Healthcare providers handle sensitive personal and medical data, which is particularly attractive to cybercriminals, as it can be sold on the black market or used for extortion and fraud.
Source: securityweek
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