One of Park Ridge, Ill.-based Advocate Lutheran General Hospital's desktop computers was reported stolen Jan. 8 after a man claiming to live in the Philippines called the hospital to say he bought the machine at a resale shop and needed help unlocking it, according to the Chicago Tribune.
No passcodes or other help was offered to the man, police investigating the incident told the Chicago Tribune. Police added the computer may have been stolen as far back as August.
Kate Eller, a spokeswoman for Advocate Lutheran General Hospital, told Becker's Hospital Review the computer "was not used to store patient information or medical records," but was "encrypted with advanced security software as part of our ongoing efforts to ensure the highest level of protection for all devices, should they ever be lost or stolen."
In 2013, four computers containing as many as 4 million patients' names, addresses, Social Security numbers and dates of birth were stolen from one of the hospital's office buildings in Park Ridge during a burglary, according to the Chicago Tribune. At that time, a hospital spokesperson said the computers were password protected but not encrypted.
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