Yale New Haven Health Data Breach: 5 Million+ Patients Affected

Yale New Haven Health Data Breach Impacts Over 5.5 Million

A significant data security incident at Yale New Haven Health, Connecticut’s largest healthcare provider, has compromised the information of more than 5.5 million individuals. This disclosure stems from a mandatory notification submitted to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Details of the Cyberattack

Yale New Haven Health reported that a cyberattack, which occurred in March, enabled unauthorized access to patients’ personally identifiable information and certain healthcare data. The extent of the compromised data differs for each affected person.

Types of Data Exposed

The stolen information may encompass a range of personal details, including patient names, dates of birth, and contact information such as postal and email addresses, as well as phone numbers.

Furthermore, demographic data like race and ethnicity, and in some cases, Social Security numbers were also exposed. Medical record numbers and classifications of patient types were also part of the breach.

Ongoing Investigation and Potential Changes

A spokesperson for the healthcare system indicated that the total number of individuals affected by the breach is subject to change as the investigation progresses.

Ransomware Suspicions

When questioned by TechCrunch regarding the nature of the attack, Yale New Haven Health’s spokesperson, Dana Marnane, did not refute the possibility of ransomware involvement.

Marnane stated that the complexity of the attack suggests the perpetrators are known for similar incidents, but declined to provide further details due to an active law enforcement inquiry.

Communication with Hackers and Ransom Demands

The healthcare provider has not disclosed whether any communication occurred with the attackers, nor whether a ransom demand was made.

Lack of Public Claim

Currently, no prominent ransomware group has publicly claimed responsibility for the hack. It is a common practice for these groups to release stolen data if ransom negotiations are unsuccessful.

Recent Healthcare Data Breaches

This incident marks the second major healthcare data breach to be confirmed this week. Blue Shield of California recently revealed that it had shared the health data of 4.7 million patients with Google over a period of several years.

This article has been updated to include additional details concerning ransomware.