LifeLabs hit by cyberattack, 15 million patients in B.C. and Ontario vulnerable
Credit to Author: Derrick Penner| Date: Tue, 17 Dec 2019 20:08:31 +0000
LifeLabs, Canada’s biggest private provider of diagnostic testing for health care, was hit by a cyberattack Nov. 1 on systems containing the private information of 15 million patients, mostly in British Columbia and Ontario, officials said Tuesday.
The attack saw cyber criminals penetrate company systems that contained data including names, addresses, emails, passwords, health card numbers and test results where they extracted data and demanded a ransom, according to a news release issued jointly by the offices of the information and privacy commissioners of B.C. and Ontario.
In a separate letter issued at the same time by LifeLabs, company CEO Charles Brown said they paid a ransom to retrieve the data, in collaboration with experts on negotiations with cyber criminals, and hired “world-class cyber security experts to isolate and securt the affected systems.”
Brown, in the letter, said LifeLabs is offering security protection to customers such as identity theft and fraud-protection insurance, though he said LifeLabs has fixed the system issues related to the attack.
“I want to emphasize that at this time, our cyber security firms have advised that the risk to our customers in connection with this cyberattack is low and that they have not seen any public disclosure of cutomer data as part of their investigations, including monitoring of the dark web and other online locations,” Brown said.
Brown said LifeLabs has reported the offence to law enforcement, who are investigating the matter.
The offices of the information and privacy commissioners in B.C. and Ontario are also investigating the incident to examine the scope of the breach, the circumstance that led to it and what measures, if any, LifeLabs could have taken to prevent the breach.
In a news release, the commissioners said they will also investigate ways LifeLabs can help “ensure the future security of personal information and avoid further attacks.”
“I am deeply concerned about this matter,” said B.C. Information and Privacy Commissioner Michael McEvoy. “The breach of sensitive personal health information can be devastating to those who are affected.”
“Our independent offices are committed to thoroughly investigating this breach,” McEvoy said.
However, while the commissioners said they will report publicly on their findings and recommendations once the work is complete, they will not discuss details of its proceedings while it is underway.
LifeLabs has set up a dedicated phone line and information on their website for individuals affected by the breach. To find out more, the public should visit customernotice.lifelabs.com or contact LifeLabs at 1 888 918-0467.
More to come