North Country Orthopaedic Group files lawsuit against unidentified cyberhackers, has stolen data returned

Orthopedic

In November, Watertown, N.Y.-based North Country Orthopaedic Group filed a lawsuit against John Doe and Jane Doe, unidentified cyberattackers who stole confidential patient information in an August data breach, alongside Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center and Carthage Area Hospital. 

The data was allegedly stolen and stored on cloud-storage firm Wasabi Technologies' servers. 

Now, Wasabi Technologies has returned the stolen data to Carthage, N.Y.-based North Star Health Alliance, a group of partners that includes North Country Orthopaedics.

The health system said it doesn't expect the LockBit ransomware gang to respond to the legal complaint, so will likely drop it now.

North Country filed the lawsuit in the St. Lawrence County Court in New York following a data breach that impacted patient information including names, addresses, dates of birth, financial information, Social Security numbers, health insurance information and other personally identifying and protected health information. 

The information has allegedly remained in the possession of the cybercriminals responsible for the attack who "perpetrated the subject scheme in secrecy and utilizing the Worldwide Web," according to the lawsuit. 

The medical groups filed the lawsuit to seek injunctive relief against the cyberattackers, requesting that the court order a statement preventing the access, transfer or duplication of the stolen data, requiring all data be returned to the hospital group and requiring all copies of the stolen data be destroyed. 

A Wasabi Technologies spokesperson told Becker's: "We're committed to complying with all relevant regulatory requests. It is our policy not to comment on ongoing legal matters."

Copyright © 2024 Becker's Healthcare. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Cookie Policy. Linking and Reprinting Policy.

 

Featured Webinars

Featured Whitepapers