At least three American healthcare providers have suffered a data breach after a cyber-attack on an administrative services company in Texas.
CaptureRx, which is based in San Antonio, fell victim to a ransomware attack on February 6. On February 19, an investigation into the attack determined that certain files had been accessed without authorization.
During the attack, cyber-criminals exfiltrated files containing the personal health information (PHI) of more than 24,000 individuals.
CaptureRx serves the Mohawk Valley Health System affiliate Faxton St. Luke’s Healthcare in New York, Thrifty Drug Stores (Thrifty White), and Gifford Health Care of Randolph, Vermont, among others.
A review of the attack, completed on March 19, determined that the security breach impacted 17,655 patients of Faxton St. Luke's Healthcare and a further 6,777 patients at Gifford Health Care. The number of Thrifty Drug Store patients affected by the attack has not yet been determined.
HIPAA Journal reports that CaptureRx is currently unclear how many of its healthcare provider clients have been affected by the attack. Nor has the company finished its final tally of how many individuals had their PHI exposed because of the incident.
Data exposed and stolen by the ransomware attackers included names, dates of birth, prescription information, and, for a limited number of patients, medical record numbers.
Affected healthcare provider clients were notified of the incident by CaptureRx between March 30 and April 7.
WKTV reports that 100 patients of Faxton St. Luke's Healthcare were not notified of the data breach because CaptureRx was unable to verify a valid mailing address for them.
The company said no evidence has been found to suggest that the data stolen in the attack has been misused. Impacted individuals have been advised to closely monitor their bank accounts for any incidences of fraudulent activity.
"Data privacy and security are among CaptureRx’s highest priorities, and there are extensive measures in place to protect information in CaptureRx’s care," stated Capture Rx.
"As part of CaptureRx’s ongoing commitment to the security of information, all policies and procedures are being reviewed and enhanced and additional workforce training is being conducted to reduce the likelihood of a similar event in the future."