Tennessee-based Community Health Systems—which operates 206 hospitals across 29 states—discovered a breach recently and believes the cyber-attack occurred in April and June. CHS officials said they believe the hacking group responsible for the breach is located in China and “used highly sophisticated malware and technology.” Hackers were able to circumvent CHS’s security measures and copy and transfer data outside the organization.
The hackers accessed the following data from affected patients:
- Patient names
- Addresses
- Dates of birth
- Telephone numbers
- Social Security numbers
Tips on how to avoid this scenario:
- Act quickly! If you suspect something is not right, report it to your manager and file an EOR.
- Make sure you use a strong password.
- Do not open emails from unknown senders.