Froedtert Hospital hacked, patients alerted of illegal access

WAUWATOSA (WITI) -- Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa is warning patients, some 43,000 of them, that their private information may have been accessed.

A letter was sent out on Tuesday, February 12th alerting patients who could have been affected by the intrusion.

Froedtert Health is calling this a "computer security incident." The company refused to talk on camera. But in a statement, officials say on December 14th, "a computer virus may have allowed an unauthorized person to access a Froedtert Health employee's work computer account."

Froedtert officials said in the statement that no financial information or medical records were accessed. But they admit, some of the files, fewer than 3% of them, may have contained Social Security numbers.

A computer science professor at UW-Milwaukee says there is some reason for concern. He told FOX6 News that some hackers may know how to download documents without leaving any evidence.

"I do think it's serious and it suggests they do need to work on their security," said Prof. Ethan Munson.

Munson described Froedtert's statement as "very vague." But he is not certain the hacker would be able to get enough information to effect that many patients.

"A bad incident would be credit card numbers, plus social security numbers," said Munson.

But it's enough of a concern, Munson says, for patients to keep an eye on their insurance bills and credit information for any transactions they do not recognize. He says the incident clearly highlights a problem with Froedtert's security. He also believes there is not much any company can do in the digital age to truly stop it.

"Today things are very electronic, and we haven`t yet found systems that really secure the process very well," said Munson.

Here's who would be impacted by the breach in security. If you have been a patient at Froedtert Hospital, Community Memorial Hospital in Menomonee Falls, St. Joseph's Community Hospital in West Bend, the Froedtert Health Medical Group, which consists of clinics in Menomonee Falls and West Bend, the West Bend Surgery Center and Kettle Moraine Anesthesiology.

Froedtert Health has set up a call center for people with questions just about this issue. CLICK HERE to learn more.