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Tech company Elekta, Inc has been hit with a class action lawsuit alleging that the suspension of its cloud data storage system in the face of an April ransomware attack delayed cancer treatments for patients.
Lead plaintiff, Carla Tracy, lodged the complaint in Georgia federal court Friday seeking to represent others across the nation whose personal health information was exposed in a series of data breaches this spring. Tracy accuses Elekta of failing to properly secure its cloud data storage system, leaving it vulnerable to hackers. In addition, the response by the company allegedly prevented or delayed treatment for cancer patients across the nation.
Tracy says that Elekta’s first generation cloud-based storage system was breached in a ransomware attack that exposed patient names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, health insurance information, medical record numbers, and clinical information related to cancer treatment, including medical histories, physician names, dates of service, and treatment plans on April 2 and April 20.
The company serves cancer treatment facilities and the class action lawsuit claims that patient records belonging to 42 healthcare systems were exposed, including: Northwestern Memorial HealthCare, Renown Health, St. Charles Health System, Carle Health, Cancer Centers of Southwest Oklahoma, LLC, Lifespan, Southcoast Health, and Yale New Haven Health.
In addition to exposing Tracy and others to an increased risk of identity theft and fraud, the class action lawsuit alleges that Elekta’s response to the breach left cancer patients
“As a result of the Data Breach, Elekta temporarily was forced to take its software offline until the security vulnerabilities could be identified and addressed, which in turn prevented or delayed treatment for many cancer patients across the United States,” explains the lawsuit.
The plaintiff points out that Elekta claims its services “[p]rotect your data,” touting its security systems and use of artificial intelligence (AI). Despite these claims, Tracy says that hackers were able to use compromised credentials to access Elekta’s cloud-based data storage system in April to conduct a ransomware attack.
“Shortly thereafter, Elekta began emailing its clients that it was taking action to immediately cut off the cyberattackers by temporarily taking its systems offline and cancelling or rescheduling radiation treatment appointments for cancer patients,” states the class action lawsuit, which notes that the move delayed or disrupted care for these patients.
A forensic analysis of the cyberattack found that all patient data, including tens of thousands of records at each healthcare system that used Elekta, had been compromised in the data breach, claims the class action lawsuit.
Tracy wants to represent other patients across the nation whose personal information was exposed in the Elekta data breach. She says that the data breach occurred due to Elekta’s own negligence and she wants the company to pay Class Members any damages they suffered, along with attorney fees, and court costs.
Was your personal information exposed in the Elekta data breach? Did you or a loved one miss out on cancer treatment due to the ransomware attack? Tell us what happened in the comment section below.
The plaintiff is represented by MaryBeth V. Gibson and N. Nickolas Jackson of The Finley Law Firm, PC, Gary M. Klinger of Mason Lietz & Klinger, LLP, Bryan L. Bleichner of Chestnut Cambronne, PA, Nathan D. Prosser of Hellmuth & Johnson PLLC, and Terence R. Coates of Markovits, Stock & DeMarco, LLC.
The Elekta Data Breach Class Action Lawsuit is Tracy v. Elekta, Inc., Case No. 1:21-cv-02851-SDG in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division.
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