Ascension data breach
Was I affected?
Ascension confirmed a breach affecting about 5.6 million people, exposing names, addresses, dates of birth and Social Security numbers. You may be affected if you were treated at an Ascension hospital or clinic, lived in an Ascension senior-living site or worked for Ascension, and received a notice letter from Ascension.
| Announced | Dec 19, 2024 |
|---|---|
| When it happened | May 2024 |
| People affected | 5.6 million |
| Data exposed | Names, Addresses, Dates of birth, Social Security numbers, Driver's license numbers, Passport numbers, Medical information, Health insurance details and Bank or financial details |
| Status | Confirmed by the company or a regulator filing |
What happened
A ransomware attack on St. Louis-based Ascension, one of the largest US nonprofit health systems, shut down electronic records across its hospitals in May 2024. In December 2024 it reported that files taken in the attack held data on about 5.6 million patients, senior-living residents and employees, including medical and insurance details, payment information and government ID numbers such as Social Security numbers.
What should I do?
- Freeze your credit for free at Equifax, Experian and TransUnion so no one can open new accounts in your name.
- Sign up for the free credit or identity monitoring offered in the notice letter before its enrollment deadline.
- Read every Explanation of Benefits from your health insurer and report any visit, test or prescription you never had.
- Request an IRS Identity Protection PIN so nobody can file a tax return with your Social Security number.
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Sources
- Ascension cyberattack data breach hits 5.6 million people · Healthcare Dive (news)
- Ransomware attack exposes data of 5.6 million Ascension patients · Infosecurity Magazine (news)