East Orange General Hospital falls victim to malware incident

EAST ORANGE, NJ — On June 14, East Orange General Hospital identified a malware incident that affected certain of its computer systems, according to a Sept. 15 press release. Based on the hospital’s ongoing investigation, hospital officials believe that no patient data was misused or made public and that no such data is at risk for future misuse or public disclosure. 

The malware was promptly isolated and impacted systems were quickly repaired and brought back to full functionality. External security professionals were engaged to assist in conducting a full investigation.

“While we are continuing our analysis of the data, we have determined that certain health information, including lab testing information for some of our patients, was impacted,” the release read. “The information does not contain underlying clinical diagnoses, treatment or sensitive personal information. Additionally, as already noted, we believe that none of the impacted information is at risk for misuse or public disclosure.

“We are notifying those individuals whose information may have been affected and they will be provided with resources if they need further assistance,” the release continued. “We take seriously our obligations to protect patient confidentiality and continue to further improve our security safeguards to help prevent and detect similar attacks.”

  East Orange General Hospital