Anna Jaques Hospital Facing Class Action Over Two-Day Cyberattack in December 2023

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A proposed class action claims negligence on the part of Anna Jaques Hospital is to blame for a December 2023 cyberattack that reportedly caused a days-long shutdown of the hospital’s systems.

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The 30-page lawsuit shares that on December 24, 2023, the Massachusetts hospital experienced a massive shutdown of its electronic health record system and computer network, which were offline until service could be restored on December 26. Reports say that in the meantime, the hospital was forced to divert ambulances to other nearby facilities.

As a result of the incident, private information stored in the defendant's network was exposed to cybercriminals, the suit states. Although it is unknown what specific data was compromised, the affected information is “almost certain to include significant and sensitive [protected health information] and [personally identifiable information], given [Anna Jaques Hospital’s] status as a large regional healthcare provider,” the case claims.

In addition, while the total amount of impacted individuals is also unknown, victims are estimated to number in the “tens or even hundreds of thousands,” the complaint relays.

The filing contends the defendant negligently failed to implement reasonable cybersecurity protocols to protect the highly confidential data in its care. The lawsuit alleges the hospital’s negligence is exacerbated by repeated warnings in recent years instructing healthcare entities, such as the defendant, to take preventive measures to secure their networks against unauthorized access.

The suit charges that as of the date of the filing, Anna Jaques Hospital has not notified impacted individuals about the data breach, leaving victims like the plaintiff, a Massachusetts resident, to learn about the incident from local news reports.

As such, victims remain “in the dark” regarding how cybercriminals gained access to the hospital’s systems, what specific information was stolen and what steps are being taken to safeguard the stored data in the future, the case claims.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone in the United States whose personal information was exposed to unauthorized third parties as a result of the data breach experienced by Anna Jaques Hospital on December 24 and 25, 2023.

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