Skilled criminal hacker exposes 1M Community Health Center patients
Community Health Center (CHC), a leading independent, non-profit healthcare provider in Connecticut, reports a data breach that may have affected 1,061,000 individuals. Health records and other private information may have been stolen.
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Community Health Center (CHC), a leading independent, non-profit healthcare provider in Connecticut, reports a data breach that may have affected 1,061,000 individuals. Health records and other private information may have been stolen.
According to a document filed with the Maine Attorney General’s office, the unusual activity in CHC’s computer systems was detected on January 2, 2025.
“A skilled criminal hacker got into our system and took some data, which might include your personal information. Fortunately, the criminal hacker did not delete or lock any of our data, and the criminal’s activity did not affect our daily operations,” the letter to the affected individuals reads.
CHC team believes they stopped the criminal hacker’s access within hours, “and that there is no current threat to (their) system.”
However, hackers may have accessed sensitive health records at CHC, including names, dates of birth, addresses, phone numbers, emails, diagnoses, treatment details, test results, Social Security numbers, and health insurance information.
There is no sign that the patient's information has been misused at this time. CHC offers free identity theft protection services, including a $1 million insurance reimbursement policy.
“We’ve strengthened our security and added special software to watch for suspicious activity. We are also working to make sure your information stays safe in the future,” CHC assures.
The US healthcare sector has been subject to constant attacks by ransomware gangs and other attackers. On January 26th, The New York Blood Center (NYBCe) Enterprises operations were impacted by a ransomware attack, leaving the multi-state non-profit scrambling to restore critical services and fulfill orders.
Last year’s UnitedHealth Group (UHG) breach, one of the largest and costliest attacks ever, impacted 190 million people. The Ascension Health ransomware incident exposed almost 6M people.
The FBI and other cybersecurity authorities warn that healthcare organizations are attractive targets for cybercrime actors “due to their size, technological dependence, access to personal health information, and unique impacts from patient care disruptions.”