When a healthcare data breach is first disclosed, the number of people affected is often far lower than the final tally. That figure frequently climbs as investigations continue.
That's exactly what happened with Andover, Massachusetts-based Covenant Health. The Catholic healthcare provider has confirmed a cyberattack discovered last May may have affected nearly 500,000 patients, a sharp increase from the fewer than 8,000 people it initially reported earlier this year.
A ransomware group later claimed responsibility for the incident, though Covenant Health has not publicly confirmed the use of ransomware. The attackers accessed names, addresses, Social Security numbers and health information, among other sensitive data that could put patients at serious risk.
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