Personal, medical info on 2 million radiology patients may be in hands of cybercriminals
A family-owned provider organization that supplies advanced imaging and radiation oncology services at more than 30 locations has fallen victim to a sizeable cyberattack.
Quincy, Mass.-based Shields Health Care Group Inc. announced the breach June 8.
The company says it launched an investigation March 28 when it discovered its information systems had been breached between March 7 and March 21.
HHS’s Breach Notification Portal shows the penetrated system as a network server housing data on around 2 million individuals.
The investigation “revealed that certain data was acquired by [an] unknown actor within that time frame,” the company states. “Although Shields had identified and investigated a security alert on or around March 18, 2022, data theft was not confirmed at that time.”
Shields says it will attempt to notify affected individuals once its incident review is complete.
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To date, we have no evidence to indicate that any information from this incident was used to commit identity theft or fraud. However, the type of information that was or may have been impacted could include one or more of the following: Full name, Social Security number, date of birth, home address, provider information, diagnosis, billing information, insurance number and information, medical record number, patient ID, and other medical or treatment information. Shields review of the impacted data is ongoing.”
Shields’s Twitter account notes the outfit is family-operated and serves patients in New England.
The breach has drawn broad media attention.
Read the company’s full data security incident notice.
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Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.