Boston area hospital surgeon held at gunpoint laptop stolen

31 Mar 2015 · 2 min

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In a live news segment, the anchor reports that Brigham and Women's Hospital is notifying nearly 1,000 patients that personal health information may have been compromised after a surgeon was robbed at gunpoint in September. The assailants stole the doctor's laptop and cell phone and demanded passcodes. The stolen devices contained names, ages, medications, diagnoses, and treatment details for patients treated in the neurology and neurosurgery programs between October 2011 and September 2015, but did not include Social Security numbers, insurance IDs, or financial data. Security expert Robert Siciliano explains that if the data were encrypted, the thieves might not be able to access it, emphasizing a worst‑case scenario. The hospital’s Chief Information Officer issued an apology and confirmed that notices have been sent to affected patients, while the devices remain unrecovered. The report is delivered by field reporter Katie Price in Boston.

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Then thanks, Eric. Tonight, Brigham and Women's Hospital is notifying nearly 1,000 of their patients some of their personal information may have been stolen.
It all goes back to September when one of their doctors was robbed and his laptop was taken. Katie Brace is live outside Brigham and Women's with more on this. Katie.
And Kate, the armed robbers demanded the passcodes to the doctor's computer and phone, and on them, information of almost 1,000 Brigham patients. Several hundred patients at Brigham and Women's Hospital might be worried about about more than a medical problem. A doctor was held up at gunpoint, his cell phone and computer stolen. The robbers demanded access codes. Robert Siciliano is a security expert with Hotspot Shield.
It seems that the passwords that were given away were to access the computer itself. Now, the data, the medical information, very well could still be encrypted, which would mean that the bad guy just might not have access to it. You always do worst-case scenario.
Most patients affected were treated at the hospital's neurology and neurosurgery program between October 2011 and September of this year. The information on the devices includes patient names, age, medications, diagnosis, and treatment. Not on the computer or phone: Social Security numbers, insurance numbers, and financial account information.
If your Social Security number wasn't touched, then you're in pretty good shape.
Brigham and Women's Chief Information Officer released a statement saying, in part, "We apologize for any inconvenience and deeply regret any concern this situation may cause our patients." And the Brigham did send out notices to the affected patients. The laptop and cell phone have not yet been recovered. Reporting live in Boston, Katie Price, WBC News.