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UF Health Central Florida Data Breach

The Lyon Firm is investigating data breach claims after UF Health Central Florida experienced a cyberattack that allegedly impacted Leesburg Hospital and The Villages Hospital. The UF Health data breach was announced by UF Health though it is still not certain if patient data has been compromised.

A network security investigation concluded that the cyberattack accessed the UF computer network between May 29 and May 31, 2021, and patient data may have been leaked. Potentially compromised data may include:

  • Names
  • Addresses
  • Dates of birth
  • Social Security numbers
  • Health insurance information
  • Medical record numbers
  • Patient account numbers

UF Health says electronic medical records were not accessed, and the breach did not affect the Gainesville or Jacksonville campuses. The University is not currently aware if any exposed data has been misused, though individuals at risk should take the proper precautions to prevent identity theft and fraud as there are reports that ransomware was involved.

The breach report submitted to the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights shows over 700,000 individuals potentially affected.

Local news media outlets have reported that the hackers responsible demanded a $5 million ransom. Some experts note that the UF Health Central Florida data breach is similar to a recent ransomware data breach reported by Scripps Health out of San Diego. The ransomware attack on Scripps resulted in networks outages as well as disruptions to EHR access for weeks.