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Know Your Breach: Wolfe Eye Clinic
Jun 30, 2021 2:31:53 PM
The target: Wolfe Eye Clinic, an operator of a network of eye clinics throughout Iowa.
The take: Personally identifiable and medical information of 500,000 current and past patients including names, addresses, birth dates, social security numbers, and, in some cases, medical and health information.
The attack vector: Wolfe reported that they had been victim of a ransomware attack in February of 2021. They elected not to pay the ransom at the time of the attack, but after a forensic investigation, it was confirmed that a substantial quantity of data was exfiltrated as a part of the attack.
While ransomware attacks have traditionally limited themselves to encrypting data in-place, allowing firms with robust backup regimens to recover, the vast majority of recent attacks have included an exfiltrated component, in an attempt to ensure that the victim will pay the ransom to prevent sensitive information from being leaked. Commensurate technical controls and a robust security awareness program to prevent employees from falling victims to social engineering scams are critical to preventing ransomware attacks from occurring in the first place.
