Tidelands Health located in Georgetown, SC, is working 24 / 7 to reestablish its computer systems after discovering malware on its system on December 12, 2019. The malware attack has compelled the healthcare company to stop operations in parts of its system and execute emergency protocols. Employees are using patients’ paper records while removing the malware and restoring the systems online.
Tidelands Health spokesperson Dawn Bryant said that Tidelands Health still accepts patients and provides quality care to them, however, some non-emergency appointments were rescheduled.
There is no information disclosed regarding the type of malware involved, nevertheless, Tidelands Health claims that patient data was not lost nor compromised.
Third-party cybersecurity professionals investigated the attack, removed the malware, and re-established its systems. This time-consuming, step-by-step process was necessary to ensure the stability and integrity of each system prior to bringing the systems back online.
Stolen Laptop Computer of Children’s Hope Alliance
Children’s Hope Alliance based in Barium Springs, NC is informing 4,564 patients regarding the exposure of some of their protected health information (PHI). The laptop computer of an employee which stored the information was stolen on October 7, 2019.
Third-party computer forensics experts investigated the incident to find out the information stored on the laptop computer. The investigation is still in progress, however, the initial findings reveal that the documents stored on the device included names, addresses, tax ID numbers, Social Security numbers, birth dates, prescription medication, and dosage details, usernames, and passwords.
Children’s Hope Alliance will send notifications to affected persons once the investigation is done. At this time, there is no evidence found that suggests access of any patient information by unauthorized people. There is also no report received that indicates misuse of patient data.