By Stephen Marcantel
The Advocate
LAFAYETTE, La. — A hacker group claims it stole the personal information of potentially millions of patients in a recent Acadian Ambulance ransomware attack.
The group told a data breach website it was asking for $7 million to return the personal data.
The group said the data includes Social Security Numbers, names, dates of birth, medical record numbers and medical and treatment information.
The data has not been published online, according to the blog.
In late June, Acadian Ambulance told the media that it had been the victim of a cyberattack. At the time, no information indicated what type of attack it was, but according to the group, it was a targeted ransomware attack.
In a June news release, the company said the attack disrupted certain computer systems but did not impact patient care or dispatching abilities.
“Upon further investigation, it appears that these threat actors were able to gain access to a secure server containing protected health information,” Acadian Ambulance said Wednesday in a prepared statement.
The company said it will contact impacted individuals.
Acadian officials said the company hired a third-party specialist to investigate the “network security incident.”
The company wrote that it responded quickly to the attack, which halted some systems and computers for a brief period of time. A lockdown was performed to prevent any further unauthorized activity to prevent disruption to patient care.
The hacker group appears to focus mostly on the health sector but has attacked companies such as B&G Foods, owners of Crisco, Einstein Bros Bagels, and Crockpot. The group also targeted AirAsia Group, Malaysia’s largest airline, according to the BlackBerry.
The breach is similar to the one on the St. Landry Parish School Board, which resulted in the leak of personal data for thousands of people in the parish and beyond.
Other recent victims of data breaches include the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles, the Port of Louisiana, Xavier University, Southeastern Louisiana University and New Orleans City Hall
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