Extend Fertility, a medical organization specializing in fertility care, announced that it is notifying certain patients whose information was involved in a recent cybersecurity incident. Extend Fertility is committed to keeping the community informed, communicating the steps it is taking toward resolution, and ensuring impacted individuals have the tools they need to help protect their information.
On December 20, 2021, Extend Fertility discovered that it was the victim of a sophisticated ransomware incident that impacted its network and servers which contained protected health and personal information of some Extend Fertility patients. After discovering the incident, Extend Fertility quickly took steps to secure and safely restore its systems and operations. Extend Fertility engaged third-party forensic experts to assist in the remediation efforts and to conduct a thorough investigation of the incident’s nature and scope. Extend Fertility also contacted the FBI to seek assistance and guidance as one of the many health care providers confronting the impacts of the evolving cyber threat landscape.
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Extend Fertility concluded its initial investigation on January 28, 2022. The investigation determined that on or about December 15, 2021, an unauthorized individual accessed Extend Fertility’s systems and likely obtained some information. Extend Fertility has undertaken an extensive analysis of its files to determine what information was involved and to identify individuals whose data was potentially impacted. Although the data analysis is ongoing, in the interest of initiating notifications, Extend Fertility is in the process of informing those individuals whose personal information may have been accessed or obtained.
The types of information potentially involved include demographic information (i.e., first and last name, gender, home address, phone number, email address, and date of birth); clinical information (i.e., medical history/diagnosis/treatment, dates of service, lab test results, prescription information, provider name, medical account number, or anything similar in your medical file and/ or record); and financial information (i.e., health insurance policy and group plan number, group plan provider, and claim information).
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As of now, Extend Fertility has no evidence indicating that any information has been used for identity theft or financial fraud.However, out of an abundance of caution, Extend Fertility is notifying individuals of the incident and providing information on steps individuals can take to help protect their information.
Extend Fertility is offering complimentary credit monitoring and identity protection services to individuals impacted or involved in the incident. If interested in signing up for the complimentary credit monitoring, individuals must do so within 90 days of receiving their notification letter from Extend Fertility. If you believe you were impacted by this incident and wish to take advantage of these services, please contact the dedicated toll-free helpline (as stated below) and for more information about tips to protect from identity theft, please visit ftc.gov/idtheft.
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Extend Fertility takes the responsibility to protect the security and privacy of the information in its care with the utmost seriousness, and sincerely regrets the concern and inconvenience caused by this event. In response to this incident, Extend Fertility is implementing additional safeguards to its existing cybersecurity infrastructure and enhancing its employee cybersecurity training. Further, Extend Fertility is working with its external cybersecurity experts to improve its cybersecurity policies, procedures, and protocols to help minimize the likelihood of this type of incident occurring again.
For individuals seeking more information or who have questions, Extend Fertility established a dedicated toll-free helpline set up specifically for this purpose at 1-800-364-0049 from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm Eastern time, Monday through Friday (except holidays). Representatives are available for 90 days. In addition, individuals seeking to contact Extend Fertility directly may write to 200 West 57th Street #1101, New York, NY 10019.
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