Recently, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center (“Fred Hutch”) confirmed that the organization experienced a cybersecurity incident. According to the Seattle Times, in the wake of the incident, hackers sent letters to individual patients, informing them of the incident. More recently, the University of Washington Medicine (“UW Medicine”), which works closely with Fred Hutch, sent patients a letter informing them of the incident and the fact that some UW Medicine patient information may have been leaked. Fred Hutch and UW Medicine are still investigating the impact of the incident. However, upon completing their investigations, UW Medicine and Fred Hutch will be required to send data breach notification letters to any individuals whose information was affected by the recent data security incident.
If you receive a data breach notification from UW Medicine or Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, it is essential you understand what is at risk and what you can do about it. A data breach lawyer can help you learn more about how to protect yourself from becoming a victim of fraud or identity theft, as well as discuss your legal options following the Fred Hutch Cancer Center / UW Medicine data breach. For more information, please see our recent piece on the topic here.
What Caused the Data Breach Affecting Fred Hutch and UW Medicine Patients?
The Fred Hutch Cancer Center data breach was only recently announced, and more information is expected in the near future. However, UW Medicine’s recent letter to patients provides some background.
According to the UW Medicine letter, Fred Hutch serves at UW Medicine’s cancer program, and the organizations work together to advance cancer research through the Fred Hutch/UW Medicine/Seattle Children’s Cancer Consortium. Because of this relationship, UW Medicine notes that the Fred Hutch data breach may have affected the confidential information of some UW Medicine patients. This includes patients who did not receive care through Fred Hutch.
The UW Medicine letter also confirms previous reports that the hackers responsible for the Fred Hutch breach sent letters to patients demanding they pay a ransom. UW Medicine is advising patients in receipt of a letter not to pay the demanded ransom, to block the sender of the email, and to delete the message.
UW Medicine notes that Fred Hutch took immediate steps to contain the incident, reported it to law enforcement, and is in the process of an ongoing investigation. Fred Hutch will notify all affected patients once its investigation is complete.
Fred Hutch currently has a website notice entitled “Data Security Incident” (last updated December 11, 2023). In this notice, Fred Hutch explains that it first detected unauthorized access to its systems on November 19, 2023, and that “it does not appear that the UW Medicine system was impacted.” Thus, it appears that UW Medicine’s systems were not breached as a result of the incident, and any information belonging to UW Medicine patients was likely provided to Fred Hutch by UW Medicine.
More Information About Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and UW Medicine
Founded in 1975, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center is a cancer research institute based in Seattle, Washington. However, prior to the 2022 merger between Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, the organization was known as the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Fred Hutch conducts research and clinical trials, as well as treats dozens of forms of cancer through eleven locations in and around Seattle. Fred Hutch Cancer Center employs more than 5,700 people and generates approximately $984 million in annual revenue.
Founded in 1946, UW Medicine is an academic healthcare system located in Seattle, Washington. The UW Medicine family of organizations includes Airlift Northwest, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, Harborview Medical Center, UW Medical Center, UW Medicine Primary Care, UW Physicians, UW School of Medicine, Valley Medical Center. UW Medicine employs over 35,000 people, and generates more than $6.6 billion in annual revenue.
