US fertility, that offers a chain of fertility clinics across the United States in partnership with Shady Grove Fertility, is reported to have become a victim of ransomware. And news is out that data related to patients seeking fertility treatment was stolen and leaked on the dark web.
Highly placed sources say the data was stolen in early September and then the database was encrypted by hackers on September 14th 2020. News is out that data such as names, addresses, and to a certain extent data related to social security numbers of some patients was also leaked in the attack.
Security experts say hackers might create havoc in the lives of the patients as they had access to the history, treatment and test results of the patients.
Why it took two months for the healthcare service provider to publish the incident is yet to be known. But a source from the fertility clinic that was backed by Amulet Capital Partners has already informed the data watchdogs and the law enforcement at the end of Sept this year. And after evaluating the pros and cons of revealing the cyber incident, the company made it public at the end of November.
Last November, FBI has issued a public statement saying it is urging ransomware victims not to pay any ransom. But the security agency is also advising companies to act wisely and do what is needed in the best interest of the company.
Thus, most of the Cybersecurity firms say companies need to back up their data at regular intervals. And if a ransomware strikes, should rely on recovering the data, rather than paying a ransom.
