- Ameos group affected by worrying about cyberattack
- Sensitive Patient, Employee and Partner Information Lost In Attack
- Users warned to be on their guard in case of threats or fraud
Larger European health provider Ameos Group has confirmed to suffer a cyber attack where it lost sensitive patient, employee and partner information.
In a short message recently published on its website, the company said despite “comprehensive” security measures, it was unable to prevent a “short” access to IT systems.
During the “short” excursion, attackers stole data belonging to patients, employees and partners, as well as contact information related to individuals or companies. Ameos did not discuss the data further, so we do not know how extensive contact information is or if healthcare or payment information had been stolen.
A warning to patients
“It cannot be ruled out that this data could be abused online or made available to third parties, potentially to the detriment of those affected,” the company emphasized.
We also do not know how many people are affected by the attack yet. However, Ameo’s is a rather large healthcare provider, so it is safe to assume that this is a big incident.
The organization counts 18,000 employees in more than 100 hospitals, clinics, rehabilitation centers and nursing homes operating throughout Central Europe – in Switzerland, Germany and Austria, and is one of the largest private hospital groups in the wider DACH region, counts more than 10,000 beds and with an annual revenue of $ 1.4 million.
It is safe to assume that the number of persons affected will be published after a more thorough examination.
Ameos concluded his message by saying that it took all the usual steps after an incident like this: it disconnected its networks, closed its IT infrastructure to contain the injury, brought third-party IT and forensic experts, reinforced existing security measures, informed police and relevant government authorities.
Finally, it called on customers to be wary of incoming E emails:
“Attackers can use data such as email addresses to involve you in fraudulent. Be careful with unauthorized, excessive or suspicious advertisements or job offers in your inbox.”
Via Bleeping computer
