ZEPHYRHILLS, Fla., March 10, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Florida Medical Clinic has confirmed that unauthorized individuals gained access to its computer network and used ransomware to encrypt files. Florida Medical Clinic security teams detected suspicious activity on January 9, 2023, and steps were immediately taken to contain the cyberattack. The incident was fully contained within hours, and Florida Medical Clinic was able to proactively isolate the exposure. Third-party forensic cybersecurity firms were engaged to investigate the potential breach.
The forensic investigation was robust and ultimately determined that while the unauthorized user accessed certain files containing personal information, the Florida Medical Clinic electronic health record (EHR) systems remained secure and were not exposed in the breach. There is no evidence that any of the accessed information has been improperly used, and Florida Medical Clinic has secured evidence that all of the stolen files were permanently deleted. We feel strongly that any information obtained was not used for malicious intent. Nevertheless, we are notifying you of this event.
Florida Medical Clinic and our third-party forensic cybersecurity firm has conducted a thorough review and determined that 94,132 files were exposed, which contained limited personal information. Fortunately, the overwhelming majority of the files – over 95% – included only an individual’s name and no other personally identifiable information. The remaining files may have included information such as medical information, phone number, email address, date of birth, and address. Only 115 patient Social Security numbers were compromised. Fortunately, we have no evidence that any patient’s bank account, credit card, or other financial information was compromised.
We are in the process of notifying patients whose information was involved. Any patient who wants additional information may visit our website, https://www.floridamedicalclinic.com/, or contact the Florida Medical Clinic administrative office at (813) 367-0016, Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m. Our website contains additional steps that patients may wish to consider in order to protect their personal information and guard against identity theft.
Florida Medical Clinic values your privacy, and we deeply regret that this incident occurred. Since this event, Florida Medical Clinic has worked with our outside security consultant to implement additional cybersecurity measures to prevent recurrence of such an attack and to continue to protect the privacy of our valued patients, including replacing certain components of our system and changing the remote access protocols for our systems. We appreciate our patients for entrusting us with their care and trust that we remain committed to that care and to following through with the protocol for handling this unfortunate situation.
