California clinic to close after ransomware wipes out patient records

Jackie Drees – September 30, 2019

Wood Ranch Medical announced Sept. 18 that it will close in December after a ransomware attack caused the Simi Valley, Calif.-based medical clinic to lose all access to its patients' medical records.

WRM was hit by ransomware Aug. 10, which encrypted patients' health records as well as the clinic's backup hard drives. Unable to restore access to the information, WRM said it will shut down Dec. 17.

"The damage to our computer system was such that we are unable to recover the data stored there and, with our backup system encrypted as well, we cannot rebuild our medical records," WRM wrote in a statement to its website.

There has been no indication that any patient information, including names, addresses, dates of birth and medical insurance, were compromised, according to WRM. The clinic mailed letters to notify individuals affected by the incident.

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https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/cybersecurity/california-clinic-to-close-after-ransomware-wipes-out-patient-records.html