Tara Jeffrey
Information about patients and staff has been stolen amid an ongoing cyberattack, and those responsible may publish the data, Bluewater Health confirmed, Tuesday.
“Working with leading cybersecurity experts, we have determined through our investigation that, unfortunately, certain patient, employee and professional staff data has been taken and there is the possibility that the actors responsible for this attack may publish some of the stolen data,” the hospital said in a statement posted to social media.
“We continue to investigate to determine the exact data impacted, and any individuals whose data was affected by this cyberattack will be notified in accordance with the law.”
Bluewater Health is among a regional group of hospitals impacted by the cyberattack first reported as a ‘digital systems outage’ last week.
“Bluewater Health, Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, Erie Shores HealthCare, Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare and Windsor Regional Hospital, and our shared service provider TransForm Shared Service Organization, can confirm that we are victims of a ransomware attack,” the statement added.
“We continue to work around the clock to restore systems, and we expect to have updates related to the restoration of our systems in the upcoming week.”
The hospital group says they’re working closely with law enforcement — including local police departments, Ontario Provincial Police, INTERPOL and FBI – and have notified all relevant regulatory organizations including the Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner.
“The hospitals will continue to do their best to contact patients directly in advance if they have a scheduled appointment with one of our hospitals that needs to be rescheduled. If patients do not need emergency care, we ask that they please attend their primary care provider or local clinic.
“We understand the impact this incident is having on members of our community, including patients and our employees and professional staff, and deeply apologize for the inconvenience this has caused,” the statement added. “We want to thank everyone for their patience during this time.”
The group says it won’t be commenting further, “due to the fact we have notified and engaged law enforcement as part of a criminal investigation.”