Maternal & Family Health Services Issues Notice Of Cybersecurity Incident

PRESS RELEASE

WILKES-BARRE, Pa., Jan. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Maternal & Family Health Services ("MFHS"), a private non-profit health and human services organization serving Northeastern Pennsylvania, announced today that the organization was the victim of a sophisticated ransomware incident that may have resulted in the inadvertent exposure of sensitive information to an unauthorized individual.  MFHS began notifying potentially affected individuals, including certain current and former employees, patients, and vendors, on January 3, 2023.

On April 4, 2022, MFHS experienced a ransomware incident. Upon learning this, MFHS immediately engaged specialized third-party forensic incident response firms to assist with securing the organization's systems. The firms conducted a forensic investigation to determine the extent of any unauthorized activity and identify what data may have been compromised.  During the course of the investigation, it was determined that elements of personal information of certain individuals may have been compromised.  This personal information included, and potentially was not limited to: names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, financial account/payment card information, usernames and passwords, medical information and/or health insurance information.  The investigation also found that while MFHS was alerted to the ransomware event on April 4, 2022, the unauthorized access to the organization's systems occurred between August 21, 2021 and April 4, 2022.  MFHS does not have any evidence that any personal information has been misused as a result of this incident. 

Beginning on January 3, 2023, MFHS issued letters to potentially impacted individuals.  The letters include information about the incident and steps that individuals can take to protect their personal information such as the implementation of fraud alerts and security freezes. MFHS is also offering complimentary credit monitoring and identity theft protection services to individuals whose Social Security number and/or financial account/payment card information may have been involved in the incident.

"Maternal & Family Health Services takes the protection our patients' and employees' personal information seriously," said Maria Montoro Edwards, Ph.D., President & CEO of Maternal & Family Health Services.  "We understand the inconvenience or concern this incident may cause and are committed to strengthening our systems' security to prevent this kind of incident from happening again."

MFHS has also launched a dedicated phone hotline for individuals with questions about the incident. Call center representatives are available at (833) 896-7339, Monday through Friday from 9:00 am – 9:00 pm Eastern Time.

About Maternal & Family Health Services:

Founded in 1971, MFHS is a private, non-profit health and human services organization that works to meet the health and nutrition needs of Northeastern Pennsylvania's women, children, and families with information, education, and quality care.  MFHS oversees and supports a network of health and nutrition centers in 17 Pennsylvania counties, serving over 90,000 women, men, and children annually.