Massive data breach at Arnprior Regional Health
Arnprior Regional Health says a cyber attack compromising data dating back decades has taken place.
The health network says they became aware of the hack on its IT system on Dec. 21, 2021. Information including names, dates of birth, contact information, health card numbers, recent hospital visits, and diagnoses.
ARH says the earliest information accessed dates back to April 1996 and could affect past patients in Arnprior, those who visited the local emergency room, people who had a COVID test or attended mass vaccination clinics in Renfrew County, as well as people who have been on physician waitlists or who were contacted by flu shot clinics.
A full list of those whose data my have been compromised can be found on the Arnprior Regional Health website.
In an age where data is the new currency, technology analyst Carmi Levy says data breaches like these are a dime a dozen now.
"Usually when there's a breach like this the data ends up being sold online," Levy tells CTV News Ottawa. "It ends up on dark websites, being shared with criminal elements."
While some may believe that much of their personal information is already publicly accessible through social media, Levy says a combination of personal information and sensitive medical data could leave people exposed to personal and financial attacks.
"So at worst it will be used to target you in the future," Levy explains. "You might receive an identity theft attack or be on the receiving end of an identity theft attack."
In an age where cyber security is constantly being breached, Levy is shocked at the scale of the hack that took place at Arnprior Regional Health.
"The scope and breadth and depth of this information that was compromised in this particular event is quite breathtaking and it is concerning. It goes back decades. It covers some very sensitive health care related information. In the wrong hands it could be very devastating."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.