Proliance Surgeons Discloses a Data Breach

Proliance Surgeons, a Seattle-based surgical group notifying nearly 437,400 individuals that their information was potentially compromised in a ransomware and data theft incident earlier this year. The breach is part of a larger, disturbing trend in the healthcare sector in 2023.

The surgical group, which has about 100 locations in Washington state and treats more than 800,000 patients annually, reported the hacking incident involving a network server to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Nov. 20.

In its breach notice, the specialty medical group said the cyberattack on its network had involved some IT systems and files being encrypted, as well as unauthorized access resulting in the removal of “a limited number” of files.

Proliance said it immediately launched an investigation, contacted law enforcement and began notifying individuals. But during a comprehensive forensics investigation by third-party cybersecurity experts, the practice discovered on May 24 that additional files potentially containing personal information also may have been accessed by attackers around Feb. 11.

That data includes individual names, birthdates, Social Security numbers, medical treatment information, health insurance information, phone numbers, email addresses, financial account numbers, driver’s license numbers or other identification information, and usernames and passwords.

Proliance said it is taking steps to enhance its existing cybersecurity protocols, including implementing additional measures.