HHS OCR breach portal (HIPAA breaches affecting 500 or more individuals) Primary notice
Posted on the HHS Office for Civil Rights breach portal with a submission date of March 16, 2017.
- Organization as reported
- Estill County Chiropractic, PLLC, KY
- Entity type as reported
- Healthcare Provider
- Category as reported
Hacking/IT Incident
- Location of information as reported
- Network Server
- Submission date
- March 16, 2017
- Observed by BreachRecords
- 2026-10-18 16:15 UTC (revision 14241, row:5380)
- Archived copy
- Held in the private archive (provenance)
The covered entity (CE), Estill County Chiropractic, discovered that an unauthorized user installed malicious software (ransomware) on its computer system that encrypted 5,335 patients’ files. An investigation revealed that the hacker was able to gain access to the CE’s server using the administrative credentials of its electronic medical records vendor. The types of PHI involved in the incident included patients’ names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, dates of birth, social security numbers, provider notes, health plan and claims numbers, clinical information, and health diagnoses. The CE provided breach notification to HHS, affected individuals, and the media. The CE immediately disconnected its server and workstations, hired outside counsel, and consulted forensic investigators. Further, the CE purchased and installed a new server and installed a new version of its electronic medical record software with strengthened safeguards. OCR provided technical assistance to the CE regarding business associate (BA) agreements with vendors, and the CE provided OCR with an updated BA agreement. The CE also retrained its workforce and updated its HIPAA policies and procedures. OCR obtained assurances that the CE implemented the corrective actions listed above.