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Texas-based care provider HMG Healthcare has confirmed that hackers accessed the personal data of residents and employees, but says it has been unable to determine what types of data were stolen.<\/p>\n
HMG Healthcare is headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas, and provides a range of services, including memory care, rehabilitation, and assisted living. HMG\u2019s website says it employs more than 4,100 people and serves approximately 3,500 patients, generating more than $150 million in annual revenues<\/a>.<\/p>\n In a notice published on its website<\/a>, HMG chief executive Derek Prince confirmed that hackers in August accessed a server storing \u201cunencrypted files\u201d containing sensitive information belonging to patients, employees, and their dependents. HMG said it learned of the breach months later in November.<\/p>\n HMG said the stolen information \u201clikely contained\u201d personal information, including names, dates of birth, contact information, Social Security numbers, and records related to employment; as well as medical records,\u00a0general health information, and information regarding medical treatment, according to the notice. HMG also said that the notice has been published in order to inform \u201cindividuals for whom HMG has insufficient or out-of-date contact information\u201d about the incident, suggesting historical patient data may have been impacted.<\/p>\n However, HMG admits that while it attempted to identify the specific data that was compromised, \u201cwe have now determined that such identification is not feasible.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s not yet known why HMG couldn\u2019t determine the types of data stolen, and a company spokesperson did not respond to TechCrunch\u2019s questions.<\/p>\n HMG did not say in its notice how many individuals are thought to be affected by the breach. However, a filing with the Texas attorney general<\/a> submitted by HMG on Monday confirms that approximately 75,000 Texans were impacted by the breach; though it\u2019s not known how many non-state residents are affected.<\/p>\n HMG did not describe the nature of the cyberattack, but noted that \u201cHMG worked diligently to ensure that the stolen files were not further shared by the hackers to other sources.\u201d It\u2019s not uncommon for corporate victims of ransomware attacks to pay hackers a ransom demand<\/a> in an effort to limit the spread of stolen data, despite having no guarantees that the hackers would keep their end of the deal.<\/p>\n TechCrunch asked HMG if it had paid a ransom to the hackers.<\/p>\n Per HMG\u2019s data breach notice, the healthcare provider also has a number of facilities in Kansas \u2014 including Tanglewood Health and Rehabilitation, and Smoky Hill Health and Rehabilitation \u2014 that were affected by the data breach.<\/p>\n HMG CEO Prince noted that the organization has \u201cincreased its data security protocols\u201d in light of the incident, but did not specify what additional security steps were taken.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n