MaineGeneral patient and staff information breached in cyber attack
MaineGeneral Health says the information of some patients, staff members and donors may have been compromised in a cyber attack on its computer network.
The Augusta-based health organization announced Tuesday morning that it was notified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Nov. 14 that the FBI found MaineGeneral data on an external website that is not accessible by the general public.
The data identified by the FBI includes the birth dates and emergency contact name, address and telephone number of some patients referred by physicians to MaineGeneral Medical Center in Augusta for radiology services since June 2009. The data also includes names, addresses and telephone numbers of some employees, as well as similar information of some prospective donors.
The information compromised may include patients of all MaineGeneral Health subsidiaries including, MaineGeneral Medical Center, MaineGeneral Rehabilitation and Long Term Care, MaineGeneral Retirement Community and MaineGeneral Community Care, the organization said.
The data identified by the FBI doesn’t include Social Security numbers, patient names, patient medical or health insurance information, health records, driver’s license numbers or financial information, the hospital said.
Chuck Hays, president and CEO of MaineGeneral, said the organization has hired forensic investigators to determine how the breach happened and its extent.
The incident is still under investigation by the FBI, and the number of individuals affected isn’t yet known, Hays said. MaineGeneral plans to send letters to those impacted, but people can call 1-877-441-2645 for additional information.
“We’re very sorry for any inconvenience this has caused our community,” Hays said. “MaineGeneral has always tried to provide excellent health care for our community.”
Even though no financial or account information has been identified as compromised, MaineGeneral said it is offering individuals impacted by the incident access to one year of complimentary credit monitoring and identity restoration services with AllClear ID.
Hays said this is the first known time MaineGeneral information has been breached by a cyber attack.
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