Cyberattack hits MaineGeneral Health
MaineGeneral Health was notified by the FBI of a cyberattack in which certain data was found on an external website that is not accessible by the general public.
MaineGeneral immediately launched an investigation to confirm the security of its systems and the source of the data and is currently working with the FBI and a top computer forensics firm to learn the source and extent of the data breach, according to WCSH TV.
"We take any threat to the security of information entrusted to us very seriously," said Chuck Hays, CEO of MaineGeneral Health. "Once the attack was discovered, we immediately took counter measures and also hired nationally-renowned computer forensic investigators to determine exactly what happened and what information is at risk."
The information compromised may include patients of all MaineGeneral Health subsidiaries including. It includes dates of birth and emergency contact names, addresses, and telephone numbers for certain patients referred by a treating physician to MaineGeneral Medical Center for radiology services since June 2009.
The data also includes the names, addresses and telephone numbers of certain employees, as well as similar information for certain prospective donors. The data identified to date by the FBI does not contain Social Security numbers, patient names, patient medical or health insurance information, health records, driver's license numbers or credit/financial account information, according to the report.
Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.