Hacker gains access to sensitive data for 18 months
HIPAA Weekly Advisor, February 20, 2006
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A hacker who had the opportunity to access business and patient data for 18 months after hacking into the UW Medicine computer system did not view the information, reports the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Staff at the Washington state-based health system neglected to install patches, which allowed the attacker to exploit vulnerabilities and gain entry in June 2004. Employees discovered the breach in December 2005.
The hacker had access to system passwords for over 200 computers that stored patient and business data. However, it appears that the hacker only wanted to use the machines for their computing power, as no records were touched, Dr. James Fine, UW Medicine's chief information officer, told the Post-Intelligencer.
Click here to read the Seattle Post-Intelligencer article.
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