Louisiana clinic hit by ransomware attack

Mackenzie Garrity -

Magnolia Pediatrics in Prairieville, La., is working with the FBI and has alerted patients' families of an August ransomware attack, according to The Advocate.

The clinic's IT company was the target in the ransomware attack. After hackers encrypted the networks at the IT company, they were able to gain access to Magnolia Pediatrics, practice administrator Lisa Hammer said.

Patient data that was encrypted included names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, addresses, phone numbers, insurance information, medical record numbers and other clinical information.

Magnolia Pediatrics' IT company did pay the ransom, so the practice was able to decrypt its networks. While there is no evidence that the hacker removed or accessed patient information, Magnolia Pediatrics is recommending patients monitor their credit card statements.

Since the attack, Magnolia Pediatrics has reset its passwords, rebooted firewalls and implemented stronger spam filters, reports The Advocate.

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