Five Ontario hospitals hit by ransomware attacks last fall announced they have mailed out more than 326,000 letters notifying patients whose personal information was stolen.
The cyberattack targeted Bluewater Health, Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, Erie Shores Healthcare, Hotel Dieu Grace Healthcare, and Windsor Regional Hospital on October 23rd.
Hospitals said in a joint statement that no electronic medical records were affected by the attack, with the exception of Bluewater Health.
But they allege that personal health information stored elsewhere in the hospital’s system was stolen and some of that data published on the dark web.
The hospital estimates that a total of 326,800 patients had their information stolen, but notes that some of these patients may have been counted multiple times if they visited multiple hospitals. please.
Patients who attended multiple affected hospitals can expect to receive multiple notification letters.
“This case was complex and the data analysis took several months to complete,” the hospital said in a statement Wednesday.
“The impact of this incident varied from hospital to hospital. We have spent significant effort assessing all affected files to ensure all affected patients are notified. Ta.”
Patients whose Social Security numbers were compromised will also receive information about credit monitoring, according to the statement.
Both hospitals said they consulted with Ontario’s Information and Privacy Commissioner about their approach to patient notification.
“We sincerely apologize to our patients, communities, and healthcare workers for the inconvenience caused by this cyberattack,” they said.
The ransomware attack affected five hospitals as well as TransForm, a nonprofit organization tasked with monitoring hospital IT systems.
The group previously announced that the attack affected not only hospital operations, but also the data of certain patients, employees and professional staff, but did not give in to ransom demands on expert advice.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 3, 2024.
