Hospital Hit With Ransomware Says Patient Data Not Compromised

Following a ransomware attack against Enloe Medical Center in Chico, Calif. on Jan. 2, the hospital has been operating under downtime procedures as specialists attempt to restore systems and data

On Jan. 2, ransomware thieves seeking to obtain a large financial payment targeted Enloe Medical Center by accessing patient information and holding the data hostage. As a result of the attack, all data and patient records stored on the hospital’s network were encrypted by the thieves, making the information impossible for hospital officials to access.

In addition to the encrypted patient data, the attack also briefly affected the medical system’s phone systems. While the phone services were restored by the next day, the affected patient data remains encrypted and inaccessible.

The hospital claims that while the patient data has been encrypted, it has not been compromised or accessed by the hackers. It is not known whether this claim is accurate.

Hospital Hit with Ransomware Attack Refuses to Pay

Enloe Medical Center officials opted not to pay the ransom, so the hospital has been operating under downtime procedures for several weeks while specialists attempt to restore the affected systems. According to reports by hospital officials, the medical center has backup protocols in place to continue delivering a high standard of patient care during the restoration process. Hospital officials announced on Jan. 17 that the medical center was operating at 95 percent.

Mike Wiltermood, Enloe’s president and CEO, addressed the hospital’s decision not to pay the ransom. “If there was a case where we thought that not paying the ransom was putting people at risk or their confidential information at risk but at this point, we have 95% of our system up our days seems well protected so it doesn’t seem at this point it’s necessary to respond to any ransom demands,” he told local media outlets.

About Hospital Ransomware Attacks

Enloe Medical Center is far from the only hospital recently hit with ransomware. Ransomware attacks against hospitals and other medical providers have been on the rise over the past several years. Additionally, the demands associated with these attacks are also getting higher. According to HealthITSecurity.com, ransom demands associated with ransomware attacks rose 184 percent during the second quarter of 2019.

According to HealthITSecurity, a Kentucky health center paid attackers $70,000 in 2019 to unlock the medical records of 20,000 patients. Tripwire.com reports that the FBI advises medical centers against paying ransomware hackers. According to the FBI, paying ransoms does not guarantee the return of the stolen data, and may simply encourage future hackers to make even higher demands.

Unfortunately, patients whose information is accessed or encrypted during ransomware attacks may be subject to a variety of negative consequences, including privacy violations, identity theft, or loss of medical records. Patients who have medical records at a hospital hit with ransomware may be eligible to hire a qualified attorney and file a class action lawsuit over these potential privacy violations.

Join a Free Hospital Ransomware Attack Class Action Lawsuit Investigation

If you were a patient at a hospital or healthcare facility affected by a ransomware attack that impacted your medical care, you may qualify to join a hospital ransomware attack class action lawsuit investigation.

Learn More

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.