Acadian Ambulance Services investigates major cyber attack affecting millions

Acadian Ambulance Services, one of the largest private ambulance service providers in the U.S., is investigating a ransomware attack that compromised potentially millions of patients’ protected health and personal information. Based in Lafayette, LA, Acadian serves approximately 24 million people across Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas.

The company detected the suspicious network activity in June 2024 and quickly implemented measures to mitigate the impact. According to a company statement, Acadian’s swift response, including the strategic shutdown of affected systems and activation of backups, ensured that patient care and ambulance dispatching were not negatively impacted. “Because of the systems in place, the steps taken before this incident, and the immediate actions of our IT, Compliance, and Operational teams, Acadian was able to continue operations with no negative impact on patient care,” the statement read.

Investigations have revealed that the attackers, identified as the Daixin Team ransomware group, accessed a secure server containing protected health information (PHI). The group has claimed responsibility for the attack, listing Acadian on a dark web data leak site and demanding a $7 million ransom. Acadian has offered $173,000, which the group has rejected. Daixin claims to have stolen data on 11 million individuals, including Social Security Numbers, names, dates of birth, medical record numbers, and medical treatment information. The compromised data also includes phone numbers, employment information, case histories, and suspected drug use history.

Acadian has hired third-party specialists to investigate the attack further and plans to notify impacted individuals and regulatory authorities once the investigation is complete. While the company has not confirmed the exact nature of the stolen information, it has acknowledged that 10 million records contain unique personal information.