US Fertility confirms that a ransomware attack hit its systems in September 2020 and information including patient data was stolen.
US Fertility confirms that a ransomware attack hit its systems in September 2020 and information including patient data was stolen.
US Fertility (USF), the largest network of facility centres in the US comprises 55 locations across ten states. Around 130,000 babies were born with 25,000 IVF cycles through its clinics in 2018.
`On September 14, 2020, USF experienced an IT security event [..] that involved the inaccessibility of certain computer systems on our network as a result of a malware infection,” states the Notice of Data Security Incident.
“Through our immediate investigation and response, we determined that data on a number of servers and workstations connected to our domain had been encrypted by ransomware.”
The firm started an investigation with the help of third-party forensic experts and notified the law enforcement agencies.
The investigation disclosed that threat actors acquired a limited number of files containing several types of information for each affected individual including names, addresses, date of birth, MPI numbers and for some individuals Social Security numbers.
The forensic investigation confirmed that the threat actors acquired unauthorised access to the files during the period between August 12, 2020, and September 14, 2020.
The US Fertility took down the impacted systems and completed recovery operations on September 20.
The company reported that it has no evidence regarding the misuse of any individual’s information as a result of the incident.
USF has established a dedicated call centre to provide information and assistance to its customers.
“We take this incident very seriously and are committed to protecting the security and confidentiality of health information we gather in providing services to individuals,” told Mark Segal, Chief Executive Officer of USF.
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