Embargo ransomware group claims major data theft at Georgia's Memorial Hospital and Manor

Bainbridge, Georgia-based Memorial Hospital and Manor suffered a significant data security incident that affected the hospital’s Electronic Health Record system.

 

In a social media post, Memorial Hospital and Manor said that on Saturday, its employees started receiving notifications of potential risks identified by the hospital’s virus protection software. The healthcare provider immediately launched an investigation, with assistance from external cyber security experts, to determine the nature and scope of the incident.

 

The investigation revealed that the hospital had been a victim of a ransomware attack which affected its Electronic Health Record system.

 

“While we believe this issue will not impact either the level or the quality of care we provide to our patients, we want to be fully transparent regarding this situation,” the hospital said.

 

“We are currently evaluating our options for restoration and recovery at this time. Please bear with us as you may experience longer wait times when you come to either the hospital or physician offices as we are working on a paper based process,” it added.

 

While hospital authorities did not say who is behind the ransomware attack or whether any data was stolen from its internal network, the Embargo ransomware group has claimed responsibility for the cyber attack and has listed the hospital as a victim on its data leak site.

 

 

The group claims to be in possession of 1.15 TB of data stolen from the hospital’s network and has given the latter until November 8 to pay a ransom, failing which the stolen data could be leaked to the public.

 

Memorial Hospital and Manor has not shared any further update regarding the ransomware attack, nor has it commented on the claims of the hacker group.