UCLA Health System Reports Cyberattack, 4. 5 Million Patients Likely To Be Affected.

The UCLA Health System said Friday that it has been the victim of a criminal cyberattack possibly affecting 4.5 million patients.

The attackers accessed a computer network that contains personal and medical information, but UCLA Health said there was no evidence that any such data was taken.

UCLA Health said it was working with FBI investigators and had hired private computer forensic experts to secure network servers.

“We take this attack on our systems extremely seriously,” said Dr. James Atkinson, interim associate vice chancellor and president of the UCLA Hospital System.

In an interview, Atkinson said the hospital saw unusual activity in one of its computer servers in October. An investigation confirmed in May that the hackers had gained access to patient information.

"They are a highly sophisticated group likely to be offshore," he said. "We really don't know. It's an ongoing investigation."

Federal officials investigate breaches of patient privacy and they can levy significant fines for violations.

Breaches of patient records have been a recurring problem for hospitals in California and across the country.

The UCLA Health System found itself at the center of a scandal in 2008 involving workers who snooped into the medical records of Britney Spears, Farrah Fawcett and Maria Shriver, among others.

One former employee was convicted of selling celebrity medical information to the National Enquirer. UCLA agreed to pay $865,500 as part of a settlement with federal regulators.

The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 protects the privacy of individual medical records. It bans, in most cases, the release of patient records without their consent and sets penalties for any unauthorized release.

Source LA Times Have you posted comments on this post? where you felt appreciated and welcome? Share your experience and insights in the comments box below.
http://www.fabmimi.com/