Yuma Regional Medical Center (YRMC) located in Arizona has reported that it encountered a ransomware attack last April. The attackers acquired the protected health information (PHI) of roughly 700,000 current and previous patients.
As per the latest YRMC statement, the attack was discovered on April 25, 2022, which affected a few of its IT networks. YRMC stated quick action was undertaken to manage the attack. Systems were taken off the internet to avert continued unauthorized access. YRMC informed the authorities, and a third-party computer forensics agency helped with the investigation to find out the nature and extent of the attack. The investigation established that the threat actors obtained access to its systems from April 21 to April 25, 2022, and, before file encryption, a part of files was taken from its systems.
YRMC stated that along with security specialists, they are getting its systems connected again right away. During the attack, its facilities stayed open and employed planned backup systems and downtime measures. There were some slowdowns to a number of medical services; nonetheless, nearly all booked services went on as appointed.
Notification letters were lately mailed to impacted people. YRMC mentioned the files extracted from its systems contained names, medical insurance data, Social Security numbers, and minimal medical details. YRMC explained its electronic medical record system wasn’t viewed. The affected persons involved are present and past patients in Yuma County or people employed in Yuma County temporarily or on a seasonal basis.
YRMC, by now, took action to strengthen security to avoid further attacks. It provided the impacted persons with free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services. Typically, ransomware attacks usually lead to the compromise of stolen information in case the ransom isn’t paid. It is unknown in this instance that when payment was given, ransomware attackers look to have professed liability for the attack.