A North Carolina imaging chain has suffered a data breach, possibly exposing 886,000 patient records to cybercriminals.
In a notice sent to patients on March 4, Eastern Radiologists in Greenville, North Carolina, said it first noticed “suspicious activity” in November of last year. After an investigation, they concluded a nefarious actor had accessed their network and stolen personal data on patients, including names, contact information, Social Security numbers, insurance information, exam and/or procedure information, referring physicians, diagnosis information and/or imaging results.
Eastern radiologists said data was copied to an off-site location, but the specifics on what was stolen varied based on the patient. The hackers had access to the radiology clinic’s systems for four days, between Nov. 20 and 24. In response, they are bolstering security to prevent further breaches.
“We have and will continue to take steps to enhance the security of our computer systems and the data we maintain. To help prevent something like this from happening again, we have enhanced our network monitoring capabilities, and will continue to assess and supplement our security controls going forward,” the letter states.
Eastern Radiologists serves patients across eastern North Carolina, with offices in Greenville, Washington and Kinston. A statement posted online says affected patients have been notified directly.
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