Employees at Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA) are being offered free credit monitoring and identity theft protection in case their personal information was taken in last week's ransomware attack.
A memo sent to staff and obtained by CK News Today strongly encourages employees and professional staff to take advantage of the offer "out of an abundance of caution" because it can be "instrumental" in identifying any "potentially" fraudulent activity.
The hospital said while it doesn't yet know precisely what information may have been compromised or exactly how many people are affected, CKHA knows employee and staff information likely was part of the information that was taken in the hack.
"We are investigating to determine the extent of the information that was impacted," read the memo.
CKHA said the investigation by cybersecurity experts may take a while to complete, but employees will be notified directly if the investigation indicates their personal information was affected.
CKHA said work continues around the clock to restore the systems and restoration updates are expected in the upcoming week.
"We want to thank all of you for your support and patience as we continue to work through the investigation and recovery. We understand the impact this incident is having on you all, and deeply apologize for the inconvenience this has caused," the memo said.
In a joint statement issued Tuesday, Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, Bluewater Health, Erie Shores HealthCare, Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare, Windsor Regional Hospital, and their shared service provider, TransForm Shared Service Organization, confirmed they were the victims of a ransomware attack.
Cybersecurity experts determined certain patient, employee, and professional staff data was taken. Officials warn this information could be published by the people responsible for the attack.
The hospitals are working with law enforcement, including local police departments, the Ontario Provincial Police, INTERPOL, and the FBI while they investigate the matter.