NorthBay Health Data Breach Investigation
The Lyon Firm is investigating a cyberattack reported by patients and hospital officials at NorthBay VacaValley Hospital. Reported systemwide disruptions are the result of a “cyber incident” that left patients scrambling for care. An investigation is ongoing, and more details will follow in the coming weeks. Contact our data breach lawyers if you are contacted by the hospital or believe you are impacted by a related data security incident.
What Happened at NorthBay Health?
There are many questions that cannot be answered at this time, however, what we do know is that NorthBay VacaValley Hospital reported a cyberattack with sources claiming that NorthBay Health had experienced a cybersecurity incident impacting the functionality of their computer network.
On April 2, 2024, NorthBay Health made the following statement to CBS reporters: “Upon detecting this incident, we launched an investigation and engaged leading external cybersecurity experts to support our response. We are working diligently to restore systems as quickly and safely as possible.”
NorthBay Health is a nonprofit health care organization based in California. NorthBay operates two hospitals: NorthBay Medical Center in Fairfield and NorthBay VacaValley Hospital in Vacaville.
Some patients were reportedly turned away from the NorthBay VacaValley Hospital following the cyber incident, which then triggered an immediate investigation into what exactly happened.
Cybersecurity experts warn that following attacks like this one former and current patients should remain vigilant for signs of data theft. All patients and staff may be at risk or medical identity theft and fraud if personal data was accessed. There is currently no evidence to suggest data was stolen, though that is a distinct possibility in situations like these.
Hackers often target hospitals and healthcare entities because they consider them low hanging fruit–many healthcare organizations have vulnerable networks and they possess a great deal of valuable personal data that can be sold on the Dark Web.
Our class action privacy lawyers are currently involved in numerous data theft cases in California and nationwide. We believe very strongly that any company or healthcare organization that collects and stores your data has a duty to protect it with strong IT security. Should they fail, and a cyberattack results in a data breach event, any negligent party can be held accountable. Contact our attorneys to learn more about how to protect yourself and how to file a class action data breach lawsuit.