Owner of Berwick Hospital says hacker stole patient info

Last updated: August 18, 2014 - 1:39pm


FRANKLIN, Tenn. (AP) -- Hospital operator Community Health Systems said a cyberattack took information on more than 4 million patients from its computer network earlier this year. The Franklin, Tennessee, company said Monday that no medical or credit card records were taken in the attack, which may have happened in April and June. But Community said the attack did bypass its security systems to take patient names, addresses, birthdates, and phone and Social Security numbers. Berwick Hospital is part of the Commonwealth Health, a network of hospitals and doctors offices owned by Community Health. Community Health said it believes the attack came from a group in China that used sophisticated malware and technology to get the information. Community Health has since removed the malware from its system and finalized "other remediation efforts" to prevent future attacks. A spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request from The Associated Press seeking comment on the attacks. The information that was taken came from patients who were referred to or received care from doctors tied to the company over the past five years. Community Health Systems Inc. is notifying patients affected by the attack and offering them identity theft protection services. The company owns, leases or operates 206 hospitals in 29 states. The attack follows other high-profile data security problems that have hit retailers like the e-commerce site eBay and Target Corp. Last year, hackers stole from Target about 40 million debit and credit card numbers and personal information for 70 million people.

For all breaking news alerts and updates, follow us on Twitter.


Last Updated: March 4, 2024 - 12:59pm

SALEM TWP. — Talen is selling its data center business — and a bunch of the power from the Susquehanna nuclear power plant north of Berwick — to Amazon Web Services, it announced on...

READ MORE »

Last Updated: February 27, 2024 - 12:46pm

SALEM TWP. — State Police are asking the public for help finding a missing woman they say is endangered, even as...

READ MORE »

Last Updated: February 22, 2024 - 8:01am

CATAWISSA — A vacant house trailer went up in flames here early Thursday, with fire crews needing to call in help from five surrounding companies to douse the fire in a small trailer...

READ MORE »

Advertisement