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 Aug. 28, 2017.
- Organization as reported
- Waco Otolaryngology Associates d/b/a Waco Ear, Nose, & Throat, TX
- Entity type as reported
- Healthcare Provider
- Category as reported
Hacking/IT Incident
- Location of information as reported
- Network Server
- Submission date
- Aug. 28, 2017
- Observed by BreachRecords
- 2026-10-18 16:15 UTC (revision 14083, row:5222)
- Archived copy
- Held in the private archive (provenance)
Waco Ear, Nose, & Throat, the covered entity, reported that the electronic protected health information (ePHI) of 38,427 individuals was disclosed when Little River Healthcare (Little River), the covered entity’s parent company, was the victim of a ransomware attack that encrypted data stored on its computers and servers. The ePHI included patients’ names, dates of birth, addresses, social security numbers, lab results, medications, diagnosis and other treatment information. In response to this breach incident, the covered entity provided notice to OCR, affected individuals, and to media organizations. During the investigation conducted by OCR, the covered entity separated from Little River, completed migration of its computer system to its own servers, conducted a new risk analysis, and developed a new risk management plan. It also provided OCR with evidence that it implemented additional security measures to prevent a similar incident from occurring.