Fort Myers, Fla.-based St. Mark's Surgical Center experienced a ransomware attack between April 13 and April 17.
Upon learning of the incident, St. Mark's officials commenced an investigation to determine the scope of the attack. Healthcare officials hired a third-party firm to conduct an external investigation. The firm concluded the attack was ransomware May 8.
Officials reported 33,877 individuals were affected in the incident, according to an Aug. 9 submission to HHS' Office for Civil Rights breach portal.
There is no evidence of unauthorized use of or access to patient information as a result of this incident, according to St. Mark's officials. However, the center's server contained patient information such as names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers and treatment information.
To avoid future security incidents, officials have installed a more robust firewall and installed a backup and disaster recovery system. They have also offered affected individuals one year of free credit monitoring services.
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Editor's note: Becker's reached out to St. Mark's Surgical Center for comment and will update as more information becomes available.