DaVita Data Breach of 2.7M from Ransomware Attack
DaVita Data Breach of 2.7M from Ransomware Attack
“One of the biggest healthcare events to be reported to federal regulators this year is the data breach.”
Dive Brief:
- The renal care firm DaVita reported to federal officials that a ransomware incident this spring compromised data from 2.7 million people.
- In April, DaVita discovered that its servers had been accessed by an unauthorized user. The hacker claimed to have stolen data from DaVita and shared it later that month. In June, the kidney care provider gained access to that data, including private and sensitive information from its database of dialysis labs.
- After breaches at Yale New Haven Health, Blue Shield of California, and Episource, a healthcare services company owned by UnitedHealth, the data breach is among the biggest healthcare events disclosed to the HHS Office for Civil Rights this year.
Dive Insight:
According to DaVita, which runs more than 2,600 outpatient dialysis facilities nationwide, the cyber attack was initially noticed on April 12. The cybersecurity news site Bleeping Computer reported that the DaVita attack was carried out by the ransomware gang Interlock.
According to a warning last updated on August 1, patient care continued as the kidney care provider recovered, and all significantly affected servers and systems have now been restored. However, patient data was made public by the attack.
DaVita
| Compromised information includes names, addresses, birth dates, Social Security numbers, and insurance and clinical data like treatment details and certain dialysis lab test results, DaVita said in the notification. |
DaVita was also financially damaged by the ransomware attack. According to a securities filing, the incident cost the provider around $13.5 million in the second quarter, which included $1 million more for patient care and $12.5 million for general and administrative charges.
Impacts from business interruptions were not included in the costs. However, the cyberattack had a detrimental effect on DaVita’s patient census, billing, and revenue collection, which the provider anticipates will have an effect on treatment revenue and volumes for the entire year. It’s possible that Interlock has previously attacked the healthcare industry.
Kettering Health
| Kettering Health, an Ohio-based health system that was hit by a ransomware attack in late May, has said it had reason to believe Interlock was also behind its attack. |
The federal government and cybersecurity experts have also issued warnings about the group. The FBI, HHS, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center announced in July that Interlock was targeting several companies in North America and Europe, including vital infrastructure.
The attack on DaVita coincides with the rise in ransomware, a form of virus that prevents users from accessing their data unless a ransom is paid. Attacks have the potential to severely impair provider operations by denying them access to vital technology, such as electronic health records, and causing them to postpone treatment or transfer urgent cases to other institutions. According to certain providers, fatality rates increased following a ransomware attack.
About The Author
Suraj Koli is a content specialist in technical writing about cybersecurity & information security. He has written many amazing articles related to cybersecurity concepts, with the latest trends in cyber awareness and ethical hacking. Find out more about “Him.”
Read More:
Meta Teams Up with Midjourney, Strikes $10B Cloud Deal with Google
About Author
English