May 15, 2018

Associates in Psychiatry and Psychology
3101 Superior Drive NW
Rochester, Minnesota 55901
 

RE:       Important Notice Regarding Possible Disclosure of Private Information

Associates in Psychiatry and Psychology (APP) takes its responsibility to protect patient information very seriously.  We are writing to inform you of a breach and possible unauthorized access of your private information.

On Saturday morning, March 31, 2018, APP discovered that some of our computers containing patient data had been accessed remotely and encrypted. This type of intrusion is referred to as “Ransomware.”  You can think of Ransomware as being the computer equivalent of someone breaking into our building and putting  padlocks on our file cabinets to prevent us from accessing the files.

Although the data stored on the computers affected is not in a human-readable format, it does contain names, addresses, birthdates, social security numbers, treatment records, and insurance data.  All of the evidence indicates that no patient data was viewed or copied and that the hackers’ sole objective was to collect a ransom from APP in order to allow us to decrypt and regain access to the files.

Upon discovery of the Ransomware, all systems were promptly taken off line for four days while we assessed the situation and the computers were restored to their previous state.  In addition, we have continued scanning for any viruses or other malware, updated our security and remote access policies, and instituted additional layers of security and encryption.

Although there is clear evidence that your data was not viewed, we recommend that you take precautionary measures to protect yourself, such as accessing and monitoring your personal credit reports to check for anything unusual. You can request a free credit report annually online at www.annualcreditreport.com or by telephone at 1-877-322-8228. If you notice anything unusual on your credit report, call the telephone number listed on the credit report or visit the Federal Trade Commission’s Web site at http://www.consumer.gov/idtheft/.

APP deeply regrets that this occurred and apologizes for any uneasiness or inconvenience this may cause you. If you have any concerns, we have a list of frequently asked questions on our website at www.appmn.com/faq. If you still have questions, please call: or e-mail [email protected].

Sincerely,

Dr. Bonita KB Patton