- A large medical care organization has revealed data violation
- Ascension was also beaten by two significant infractions in 2024
- The last incident could be linked to the Ransomware Cl0p attack
One of the largest private health systems in the US. UU., Ascension, has notified patients that personal identification information (PII), including health data, was stolen in a previously not announced attack that affected a former commercial partner in December 2024.
The incident follows a previous ransomware attack in May 2024, in which the confidential data of six million patients, which forces the company to take systems out of line, divert ambulances and stop elective care in some places.
“On December 5, 2024, we knew that the information of the ascension patient may have been involved in a possible safety incident. We immediately started an investigation to determine if a security incident occurred,” ascension confirmed in his violation notification.
Confidential data exposed
According to the reports, the attackers obtained access to confidential information that includes the name, the address, the phone number (s), the email address, the date of birth, the race, the gender and the social security number (SSN) and even the clinical information and related to the medical care of some patients, depending on the individual.
“Our research determined on January 21, 2025, which Ascension inadvertently disseminated information to a former commercial partner, and part of this information was probably stolen from them due to a vulnerability in the third -party software used by the former commercial partner. We have reviewed our processes and we are working to implement improved measures to avoid similar incidents of the occurrence in the future,” the company confirmed.
This leaves anyone exposed with a serious risk of social engineering attacks or identity theft, especially since the SSNs are involved. To help any affected person, Ascension offers two years of free identity monitoring services, including credit monitoring, fraud consultation and restoration of identity theft.
Although nothing is confirmed about the incident details, the moment and the description of the incident suggest that this could be linked to the RANSOMWARE CL0P attack that abused a failure in the Cleo file transfer software.
The group said that 59 organizations were affected in the incident, so it is certainly possible that the ascension is part of that list.
Through Bleepingcomer
