Cybersecurity

Wichita Falls, Texas-based United Regional Health Care System has alerted an undisclosed number of patients about a phishing attack that may have exposed their information.

Latham, N.Y.-based Community Care Physician began notifying an undisclosed number of patients Feb. 14 that their information may have been affected in a ransomware attack at third-party accounting vendor BST & Co.

Bellevue, Wash.-based Overlake Medical Center & Clinics, a 364-bed nonprofit community hospital, began alerting 109,000 patients Feb. 7 that their information may have been exposed in a phishing attack.

Following an October 2019 ransomware attack, MyEyeDr. Optometry of Colorado began notifying patients Feb. 7 that their protected health information information may have been exposed.

Two patients filed a lawsuit Feb. 10 against Hackensack (N.J.) Meridian Health alleging the health system failed to protect their information.

Shields Health Solutions, which provides specialty pharmacy services to hospitals and other healthcare organizations, is notifying 1,277 patients of a phishing attack that may have exposed their information.

More than 500 browser extensions that have been downloaded by millions of Google Chrome users secretly uploaded users' private browsing data to unauthorized and malicious servers, according to Wired.

Naples, Fla.-based NCH Healthcare System began notifying patients Feb. 14 that their information may have been exposed in a phishing attack.

Albia, Iowa-based Monroe County Hospital & Clinics began notifying around 7,500 patients Feb. 17 that their information may have been exposed in a phishing attack, according to the Des Moines Register.

Medical data breaches are on the rise, making patient data security one of the most pressing issues in the healthcare industry. In 2019, more than 41 million healthcare records were either exposed, stolen or inappropriately disclosed. The 2019 total is…