Ransomware attack at NY emergency service prompts data breach

New York-based emergency medical services provider Empress EMS confirmed suffering a data breach impacting nearly 319,000 individuals following a ransomware attack in July, reports BleepingComputer. Empress EMS had its systems infiltrated by attackers on May 26, with "a small subset of files" exfiltrated on July 13 and encryption following the day after, according to an investigation on the case. "Some of these files contained patient names, dates of service, insurance information, and in some instances, Social Security numbers," said Empress EMS in a disclosure. In a notification sent to the Department of Health and Human Services, Empress EMS noted that 318,558 people had their data compromised as a result of the incident. While the ransomware group behind the intrusion has not been named by Empress EMS, the Hive ransomware gang was discovered to have added a non-public entry for the emergency services provider on July 26. Further evidence on the involvement of Hive ransomware in the form of conversations with Empress EMS, as well as stolen data samples, has also been published by DataBreaches.net.