iHealth Centre values our relationship with you, our patient, and places a high priority on safeguarding your personal and health information. This notice is to inform you about a ransomware incident which resulted in potential disclosure of certain patient health information to an unauthorized third party.
What Happened?
iHealth Centre experienced a ransomware cyberattack on May 25, 2022. We immediately responded by shutting down the concerned hard drive. We promptly informed the York Regional Police as well as the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario’s office.
In a ransomware attack, the cybercriminals attempt to disrupt the business by locking companies out of their own data and servers. We immediately disconnected the affected device. As we create backups of our data on a regular basis, we were able to restore the data without giving in to any ransom demands.
In a ransomware attack, the cybercriminals attempt to disrupt the business by locking companies out of their own data and servers. We immediately disconnected the affected device. As we create backups of our data on a regular basis, we were able to restore the data without giving in to any ransom demands.
What information was involved?
We have determined that the particular drive accessed mainly contained clinic administrative files and some folders that included personal health information of up to 250,000 patients who have been to our clinic. Patient data may include raw data of testing performed at the clinic as well as personal information such as names, date of birth and health card numbers. To the best of our knowledge, the data was only encrypted and not stolen.
What steps have we taken at iHealth Centre?
We deeply regret that this incident occurred. We have taken appropriate enhanced security measures to improve information security and prevent further ransomware or breach from happening in the future.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding this breach, please contact the clinic manager at 416-297-8362 Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm or by email at admin@ihealthcentre.ca.
Under the Personal Health Information Protection Act, an individual affected by a breach of personal health information may file a privacy complaint with the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario (IPC). For information about how to file a complaint, please visit the IPC’s website at www.ipc.on.ca.