Planned Parenthood of Montana has become the latest victim of a ransomware attack, with hackers successfully gaining access to the organization’s systems and stealing sensitive data belonging to millions of individuals. The organization’s CEO and president, Martha Fuller, disclosed the breach in a statement to Recorded Future News, stating that the attack was discovered internally on August 28.
In response to the discovery, Planned Parenthood Montana’s IT team swiftly took portions of their network offline, likely as part of an investigation into the attack and to prevent any further exploitation of their systems. Fuller also confirmed that the organization is aware of the ransomware group responsible, known as RansomHub, a relatively new but prolific group that has emerged this year.
While reports indicate that the hackers stole 93GB of data, Planned Parenthood has declined to disclose the specific contents of the stolen information or outline their actions to support individuals whose data was compromised. However, the organization has confirmed that authorities have been notified and an investigation into the incident is underway.
This data breach highlights the growing threat of ransomware attacks and the importance of robust cybersecurity measures. The stolen data could potentially include sensitive information such as patient records, financial data, and personal identifying information. Planned Parenthood Montana is likely facing a complex task in mitigating the potential harm caused by this data breach, and the investigation will determine the extent of the stolen data and the individuals impacted.
