Posted On April 4, 2023 Consumer Privacy & Data Breaches
April 4, 2023 – Data may have been compromised at Montgomery General Hospital (referred to as “Montgomery” or “MGH”), according to a reputable cybersecurity website on April 2, 2023. According to the report, the breach led to the disclosure of sensitive patient and employee data to an unknown third party. Montgomery General Hospital will have to send out data breach notifications to all affected patients and workers after it determines what, if any, information was compromised, as required in data breach incidents. Since the breach was only discovered recently, Montgomery General Hospital is gathering information on what happened.
Console & Associates, P.C.’s data breach lawyers are conducting their own investigation into the data breach that occurred at Montgomery General Hospital. We are providing free consultations in which we can discuss your legal options for receiving financial compensation from Montgomery if you are one of the people whose personal information was compromised during the data breach and you want to learn more about how you can protect yourself from further harm.
Located in Montgomery, West Virginia, Montgomery General Hospital provides various medical services, including an acute care unit with 25 beds, an emergency room, and a sleep lab. The hospital also has an on-site laboratory and a variety of radiology and imaging services are offered here at the hospital. In addition to these services, Montgomery General Hospital is the parent company of Montgomery General Elderly Care, Montgomery General Extended Care, and Montgomery MedCorp, Inc. More than 290 employees are employed at Montgomery General Hospital, and the annual revenue is approximately $24 million annually.
Databreaches.net has reported that an assault was made known to them by the D#nut group. The D#nut group apparently exploited a Microsoft Exchange exploit to break into Montgomery’s computer network and retrieve the data.
Montgomery responded by initiating talks with the D#nut group, which ultimately failed. It appears that MGH, on March 5, 2023, turned down the ransomware group’s initial demand of $750,000. Social Security numbers, health insurance billing and policy information, treatments, diagnoses, test results, patient files with medical histories, and records of health insurance with CPT codes, dates of service, amounts charged, and policy information were among the information leaked by the D#nut group after a back-and-forth lasting 26 days.
A cyberattack known as ransomware occurs when cybercriminals infiltrate the computer network of a business and install malicious software, often known as malware. This software encrypts the data and prevents the organization from accessing its own information. Encryption is the process of encoding files on a system so that access to those files is restricted to only those users who possess the necessary tools to decode the files.
The term “ransomware” comes from the message that cybercriminals will leave behind instructing businesses to pay a ransom in order to regain access to their files. If the price is paid, the files will typically be decrypted, which will end the attack.
To get the company to pay for the files back, however, some hackers use a threat that is considerably more harmful. If the company already has backups of the material, then there is not much of a need for them to pay the charge. If the ransom is not paid, the hackers will then threaten to publish the material on the dark web. This tactic is called “double extortion.”
The consumer privacy lawyers at Console & Associates, P.C. help customers affected by data and security breaches pursue legal solutions by offering free consultations. By explaining your rights in clear, concise terms, we help you make an informed decision about your next steps. If you are a victim of the Montgomery General Hospital data breach, Console & Associates, P.C. will investigate at no charge to you and offer advice on how to proceed. If you decide to pursue a case, rest assured that we don’t get paid unless you do. If your claim is successful, legal fees are either paid out of the funds recovered or by the defendant. If your claim is not successful, you pay nothing.
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