Northern Light Health in Brewer Reports Data Breach

Northern Light Health in Brewer is notifying patients whose sensitive information may have been compromised in a potential data breach.

Officials at Northern Light Health report it's part of a larger breach with Blackbaud, Northern Light Health's fundraising and advancement vendor, that was reported in May. Blackbaud reported to law enforcement officials that it had experienced a ransomware attack, during which some patient information was held 'hostage' by a cyber criminal.

In July, Northern Light Health learned the scope of the information that may have been compromised. While credit card and bank account information was not revealed, the files that may have been affected included each patient's name, address, phone number, email address, date of birth, gender, the Northern Light Hospital(s) and possibly department(s) where they received care. No Acadia Hospital information was contained in this breach.

Northern Light officials are advising patients to carefully review the Explanation of Benefits forms received with any bills, and be careful of any communications attempting to use the patient's medical history to validate requests for additional personal or financial information. Questions about this breach should be directed to Northern Light Health, which is currently working to review its security policies and procedures.