Daily Inter Lake – Breaking News, Cyberattack on Kalispell Regional breaches patient data

A data breach at Kalispell Regional Healthcare earlier this year may have compromised the personal information of nearly 130,000 patients, hospital officials reported today.

Kalispell Regional said the hackers used fraudulent emails to bait employees into providing login credentials. The hospital did not know the extent of the attack, which happened in May, until an outside forensic firm concluded its investigation in late August.

The vulnerable information is different for each patient, but could involve names, addresses, phone numbers, medical record numbers and medical history. The hospital estimates about 250 patients had their Social Security numbers taken.

Of those affected, 90 percent are Montana residents.

Kalispell Regional is in the process of mailing notification letters to all those affected, which patients should receive in the coming days. The letters will tell patients what types of their personal information might have been taken and will provide steps to protect that information.

The forensic firm that performed the investigation was not able to track the ultimate source of the attack.

This wasn’t your everyday, average hacker. They were very sophisticated at disguising their track,” said Melanie Swenson, director of information technology at Kalispell Regional Healthcare, who added that her department “handles about 50,000 incoming email threats per day.”

For more information, the hospital is directing patients to call its designated help line at 1-877-514-0850.

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