Healthcare providers and organizations across the country fell victim to ransomware, phishing attacks and other cybersecurity breaches in the past month.
Here are six instances reported among hospitals and health systems.
1. Mobile, Ala.-based Springhill Medical Center experienced a cybersecurity incident in mid-July and had to shut down its network on July 16.
2. Hunt Memorial Hospital in Texas told 3,700 patients their medical records were compromised after the hospital learned of a data breach in May. The hospital investigated the breach and found hackers accessed its computer network with patient medical records and protected health information. However, the hospital is not aware of data misuse since the breach.
3. Cancer Treatment Centers of America reported an employee of its Eastern Regional Medical Center in Philadelphia was the victim of a phishing attack, resulting in an unauthorized person having access to the employee's emails for 11 days. CTCA said the email had protected health information of more than 3,900 patients, although it was unclear whether the unauthorized person viewed the information.
4. During a phishing attack at Wise Health System in Decatur, Texas, hackers tried to change about 100 payroll direct deposit earlier this year. The health system discovered the incident because its system requires paper checks printed after changes are made.
5. Placerville, Calif.-based Shingle Springs Health and Wellness Center reported ransomware had infected its server infrastructure in April and 21,513 patients' protected information could have been compromised. However, the medical center wasn't aware of an attempt to misuse patient information. In the attack, encrypted files were disabled, and staff couldn't access them.
6. Summa Health in Akron, Ohio, said employees were targets of phishing attacks in August 2018 and March 2019. The health system discovered unauthorized third-party access to employee emails in May, and then found three incidents of phishing attacks. The health system notified around 500 patients who may have been affected.