By Kevin Deutsch
Hackers breached the computer network of Broward Health in October, potentially accessing the medical and financial information of more than 1.3 million patients and employees, records show.
Bank account information, Social Security numbers, and confidential medical histories are part of the trove of data that may have been stolen in the hack targeting Broward Health, a network of more than 30 health care facilities, including Broward Health Coral Springs.
The breach happened Oct. 15 and was discovered Oct. 19, according to a disclosure filed with the Office of the Maine Attorney General, which requires public disclosure when state residents’ data is hacked. About 470 of the data breach victims live in Maine, the disclosure shows.
Victims were notified on Jan. 1, 2022, the records show.
“The personal medical information accessed included name, date of birth, address, phone number, financial or bank account information, Social Security number, insurance information and account number, medical information including history, condition, treatment and diagnosis, medical record number, driver’s license number, and email address,” Broward Health said in an announcement posted online this week.
“Although we have no evidence that your personal information has been misused, we are providing information to make you aware of the security incident so that you may take any necessary precautions,” Broward Health officials said, adding that “an intruder gained entry to the…network through the office of a third-party medical provider permitted to access the system to provide healthcare services.”
Broward Health “promptly contained the incident, notified the FBI and the Department of Justice, required a password reset for all employees and engaged an independent cybersecurity firm to conduct an investigation,” according to the notice.
Administrators also “engaged an experienced data review specialist to conduct an extensive analysis of the data to determine what was impacted, which determined some patient and employee personal information may have been impacted.”
The DOJ requested that Broward Health “briefly delay this notification to ensure that the notification does not compromise the ongoing law enforcement investigation,” according to the announcement.
Broward Health said it is offering two years of free credit monitoring to breach victims.
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Author Profile
- Kevin Deutsch is an award-winning crime journalist and author. A graduate of Florida International University, Kevin has worked on staff at The Miami Herald, New York Daily News, and The Palm Beach Post.
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