Cyber attack on Ohio counselling centre compromised patients' confidential health data

A major cyber attack on a public counselling centre in the U.S. compromised sensitive personal and healthcare information of patients, including their medical conditions, diagnoses and treatment details.

 

The Counseling Center for Wayne & Holmes Counties, located in the U.S. state of Ohio, said it suffered a network intrusion in March last year that gave hackers access to its patients’ sensitive personal and healthcare information for a limited period of time.

 

Upon detecting the intrusion, the centre said it swiftly contained the incident, reset account credentials and isolated the affected systems. it also engaged data security professionals to conduct a thorough forensic investigation into the cyber attack.

 

The counselling centre announced this week that its investigation determined that the attackers accessed its patients’ names, dates of birth, social security numbers, driver’s license details, health insurance information, medical condition information, treatment provider name, medical record numbers, treatment cost information, and diagnosis and/or treatment information. 

 

"We take this incident and the safety of the individuals we serve very seriously. Upon becoming aware of the incident, we took immediate action to contain the situation and worked closely with data security and privacy professionals to further strengthen our existing, significant safeguards," the counselling centre said.

 

"After determining unauthorised activity occurred, we began a thorough analysis of the information involved to identify those potentially affected and notify them. This data analysis concluded on December 9, 2025, and we have worked continuously to notify affected individuals and appropriate regulatory authorities."

 

Established in 1953, the Counseling Center for Wayne & Holmes Counties provides counselling services to thousands of families each year through a dedicated staff of social workers, case managers, counsellers, psychologists, psychiatrists, and psychiatric nurses. With offices in Wooster, Millersburg, Orrville and Rittman in Ohio, the counselling centre also treats behavioral health and emotional problems in children and adults and runs prevention programmes.

 

The counselling centre did not reveal how many of its patients were affected by the cyber security incident of whether it had received a ransom note from the attackers but according to reports, the cyber attack impacted approximately 83,000 individuals. The centre has advised affected patients to check their credit reports and account statements for suspicious activity.