Officials say a worker accidentally downloaded a malicious file they thought was legitimate, causing the alleged cyber attack at Ascension.
Hospital officials say the attackers took files from several servers used for daily and routine tasks.
Officials say some of those files may have contained protected health information.
Fortunately, hospital officials said no data shows the attacker getting into the electronic health records where complete patient records were securely stored.
It is unknown which data was affected and for which patients, but officials say they must thoroughly review and carefully analyze the files that may have been impacted.
Officials said they have started the process, but it is a significant undertaking that will take time.
“In the meantime, to provide our patients and associates with the greatest peace of mind possible, we are offering complimentary credit monitoring and identity theft protection services to any Ascension patient or associate who requests it, free of charge, and regardless of whether we determine in the future that their data was actually involved in this incident.”
Ascension Spokesperson
Patients and/or individuals wishing to enroll in free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services should contact the Ascension call center at 1-888-498-8066.
