Planned Parenthood Says Hacker Compromised Information for 400,000 Patients

U.S.|Planned Parenthood Says Hacker Compromised Information for 400,000 Patients

Planned Parenthood’s Los Angeles affiliate said this week that a hacker had compromised accusation for 400,000 patients successful a ransomware attack, but it did not judge that the information had been utilized for “fraudulent purposes.”

The radical said it did not cognize who was liable for the attack, which came astatine a perchance momentous juncture successful the statement implicit termination rights.

The enactment said that it had identified suspicious enactment connected its machine web connected Oct. 17 and had taken its systems offline, notified instrumentality enforcement officials and engaged a cybersecurity steadfast to investigate.

The investigation, which was continuing, determined that an “unauthorized person” had gained entree to the web betwixt Oct. 9 and Oct. 17, installed ransomware and past withdrew files.

A reappraisal of those files recovered that they contained patients’ names, arsenic good arsenic dates of birth, addresses, security recognition numbers and objective information specified arsenic diagnosis, attraction oregon medicine information.

Planned Parenthood of Los Angeles said it had “no grounds that immoderate accusation progressive successful this incidental has been utilized for fraudulent purposes” but was notifying patients who were affected “out of an abundance of caution.”

“Unfortunately, we bash not cognize the individuality of the idiosyncratic responsible, which is not uncommon successful these situations,” John M. Erickson, a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood Los Angeles, said successful an email connected Wednesday. “However, we person nary denotation this was a targeted attack.”

The breach affected lone the section Los Angeles Planned Parenthood affiliate, the radical said. No information from the Planned Parenthood Federation of America oregon immoderate different Planned Parenthood affiliate was compromised.

“PPLA takes the safeguarding of patients’ accusation highly seriously, and profoundly regrets that this incidental occurred and for immoderate interest this whitethorn cause,” the radical said successful a quality merchandise connected Tuesday. The radical said that successful effect to the attack, it had enhanced its information measures, accrued the monitoring of its web and added cybersecurity personnel.

Ransomware attacks person go progressively communal and person deed big businesses, schools and universities, section governments, hospitals and the police. In galore cases, hackers interruption into machine networks and fastener up integer accusation until the unfortunate pays for its release.

Planned Parenthood’s disclosure that it had been the unfortunate of specified an onslaught came astatine a perchance captious infinitesimal for the aboriginal of termination rights.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court seemed poised to uphold a Mississippi law that bans abortions aft 15 weeks of pregnancy. Such a determination would squarely struggle with Roe v. Wade, the 1973 determination that established a law close to termination and prohibited states from banning the process earlier fetal viability, presently astir 23 weeks.

If the Supreme Court upholds the law, Planned Parenthood has said that much than 36 cardinal women of reproductive age, and much radical who tin go pregnant, successful 26 mostly Southern and Midwestern states could suffer entree to abortion.