Frequently Asked Questions about Data Security Incident at Michael Garron Hospital MGH Michael Garron Hospital Toronto East Health Network MGHTEHN
pDonateppMGHs campus transformation continues with major renovation work Patients and visitors can expect to experience noise hallway closures and detours around the hospital Learn more about our campus transformationppLast updated November 22 2023 ppThis page includes answers to frequently asked questions about a data security incident that Michael Garron Hospital MGH experienced on October 23 2023pp1 What happened ppOn October 23 2023 MGH suffered a data security incident While critical information and clinical application systems remained uninterrupted MGH has learned that data stored on a hospital file shared drive was exposed At this time there is no indication that our patient health information database Oracle Cerner PowerChart was compromised ppWe have confirmed that the data security incident was perpetrated by a cyber threat actor group We did not pay a ransom and we are aware that data connected to the incident may be published Having received the advice and counsel of leading thirdparty experts we determined we would not yield to ransom demands Our programs and patient care services continue to operate normally and MGH remains a safe place to receive care pp2 How did the data security incident occur ppWe are currently investigating and have not yet determined how the incident occurred pp3 Are the police aware of the incident ppWe are working with law enforcement and government agencies to address this incident We have also reported the incident to the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario We are grateful for their continued support pp4 Is the incident related to the cyberattack affecting other hospitals in southwestern Ontario ppAt this time there is no indication this incident is related to the cyberattack recently experienced by other hospitals in southwestern Ontario pp5 What data was exposed in the data security incident and who is affected ppData in files stored on a hospital file shared drive were exposed We have determined that MGH employees and credentialed clinicians employed from January 2015 to November 2023 are likely affected by this incident At this time we can confirm the exposed information includes home addresses social insurance numbers bank account numbers and earnings information pp6 Are current and former patients donors learners and volunteers affected by the incident ppWe know that some patients and donors are affected by the incident though it will take us time to analyze data to determine who is affected and how We also need to further analyze the data to determine if learners and volunteers were affected and if so how We will continue to be transparent and will notify those affected as appropriate pp7 When will the hospital know the extent of the data exposure including everyone who is affected and how ppThe investigation and analyzing of data are ongoing and will take significant time likely weeks or months to complete We appreciate your patience and support as our investigation continues We are committed to providing updates as we learn more pp8 How will affected individuals be notified about this incident ppAll current employees and credentialed clinicians received formal notification of the incident on November 10 2023 along with an enrollment code for free credit monitoring services for a twoyear period If you are currently employed by MGH and did not receive an enrollment code please email email or call 18883390437
Former affected employees and credentialed clinicians will be notified by mail during the week of November 27 2023 They will also receive access to free credit monitoring services for a twoyear period If you are a former employee or credentialed clinician and you have not received information by mail by December 22 2023 please email email or call 18883390437 ppFor other individuals whose data is affected we need to first analyze the data This will take significant time likely weeks or months to complete We appreciate your patience and support as our investigation continues pp9 What supports or resources are available for current and former employees and credentialed clinicians ppGiven the nature of the information exposed MGH will be providing current and former eligible employees and credentialed clinicians with a free credit monitoring service for a period of two years a service that allows one to check for signs of identity fraud so protective action can be taken This protective service is of significant benefit today and we encourage recipients to take advantage of it Learn more about credit monitoring services ppCurrent MGH employees and credentialed clinicians can also access the hospitals Employee and Family Assistance Program Homewood Health which is available for everyone 24 hours a day seven days a week and is completely free and confidential pp10 How can I access the free credit monitoring service ppAll current MGH employees and credentialed clinicians received an email from MGH on November 10 2023 This email included more information and an enrollment code This protective service is of significant benefit and we encourage recipients to take advantage of it Former eligible employees and credentialed clinicians will receive information by mail pp11 I am a former employee or credentialed clinician or I know of a former employee or credentialed clinician who would like to ensure MGH has their most uptodate mailing address How can I share this address ppFormer affected employees and credentialed clinicians will be notified by mail during the week of November 20 2023 We will use the mailing addresses we have on file If you are a former employee or credentialed clinician and you have not received information by mail by December 22 2023 please email email or 18883390437 pp12 I am a current employee or credentialed clinician and I have not received an email with information and an enrollment code for the free credit monitoring service What should I do ppIf you are a current employee of credentialed clinician and you have not yet received this information by email please email email or call 18883390437 pp13 I am having technical difficulties redeeming my enrollment code on TransUnions website What should I do ppIf you experience any technical difficulties accessing these services please contact TransUnion at 18882284939 pp14 I was already enrolled in credit monitoring services with TransUnion Can I still redeem the free twoyear credit monitoring services with MGH ppIf you are already enrolled in credit monitoring services with TransUnion you can use the code we provided you to extend your period of coverage You will need to contact TransUnion to do this Please contact TransUnion at 18882284939 for assistance pp15 Will enrolling in the credit monitoring service affect my credit score ppNo enrolling in the credit monitoring service will not affect your credit score We encourage eligible individuals to enroll in this service to protect themselves pp16 If it is confirmed that patients donors learners and volunteers are affected by the incident will they also be offered free twoyear credit monitoring services ppMGH will make further credit monitoring offers if warranted by the type of information exposed noting that the compromise of medical information is not typically associated with a risk of identity fraud pp17 Besides enrolling in the credit monitoring service what can employees and credentialed clinicians do to protect themselves and their data ppWe recommend enrolling in free twoyear credit monitoring services offered by MGH through TransUnion If you are still concerned you may consider the following ppContact TransUnion and Equifax the two primary credit bureaus in Canada and request a fraud alert be added to your account A fraud alert is free It is a statement you can add to your credit report that warns potential lenders that you may be a victim of identity theft Fraud alerts are proactive protective measures because they may cause lenders to take extra steps to verify identity Please note placing a fraud alert on your account may result in transactional delays with lenders Learn more about fraud alerts ppContact your bank to speak with them about what has happened Your bank may recommend next steps that you can take ppReview the resources available on the Canadian AntiFraud Centres website pp18 What can employees and credentialed clinicians do to protect themselves after the twoyear period that MGH is offering credit monitoring services for ppAfter your free twoyear credit monitoring service offered by MGH expires you may choose to add or maintain a fraud alert on your accounts with TransUnion and Equifax Canadas two primary credit bureaus A fraud alert is free It is a statement you can add to your credit report that warns potential lenders that you may be a victim of identity theft Fraud alerts are proactive protective measures because they may cause lenders to take extra steps to verify identity Please note placing a fraud alert on your account may result in transactional delays with lenders Learn more about fraud alerts pp19 After the twoyear period I would like to continue using the credit monitoring service with TransUnion Is this possible ppYes after the twoyear period you may enroll in TransUnions credit monitoring service on their website You may also contact TransUnion at 18882284939 for support pp20 What measures is the hospital taking to prevent further data security incidents ppWe have already begun making significant improvements to our network security When our investigation is complete we will respond to the learnings in a manner that better protects us from these types of data security incidents in the future In addition we are continuing to implement proactive measures to safeguard our hospital network and information systems pp21 How can I stay updated about this incident especially as new information emerges ppWe are committed to providing updates to current employees and credentialed clinicians by email and on our employee intranet as we learn more For all other groups including former employees and credentialed clinicians we will share updates through our website tehnca We encourage you to check back as needed pp22 I have questions and concerns about the incident that are not addressed on this page Who should I contact ppPatients and community members email ppCurrent and former MGH employees and credentialed clinicians email or 18883390437 ppMGH donors email ppMembers of the media email ppMichael Garron Hospitalpp825 Coxwell AvenueppToronto ON M4C 3E7ppPhone 4164618272ppFollow usp
Former affected employees and credentialed clinicians will be notified by mail during the week of November 27 2023 They will also receive access to free credit monitoring services for a twoyear period If you are a former employee or credentialed clinician and you have not received information by mail by December 22 2023 please email email or call 18883390437 ppFor other individuals whose data is affected we need to first analyze the data This will take significant time likely weeks or months to complete We appreciate your patience and support as our investigation continues pp9 What supports or resources are available for current and former employees and credentialed clinicians ppGiven the nature of the information exposed MGH will be providing current and former eligible employees and credentialed clinicians with a free credit monitoring service for a period of two years a service that allows one to check for signs of identity fraud so protective action can be taken This protective service is of significant benefit today and we encourage recipients to take advantage of it Learn more about credit monitoring services ppCurrent MGH employees and credentialed clinicians can also access the hospitals Employee and Family Assistance Program Homewood Health which is available for everyone 24 hours a day seven days a week and is completely free and confidential pp10 How can I access the free credit monitoring service ppAll current MGH employees and credentialed clinicians received an email from MGH on November 10 2023 This email included more information and an enrollment code This protective service is of significant benefit and we encourage recipients to take advantage of it Former eligible employees and credentialed clinicians will receive information by mail pp11 I am a former employee or credentialed clinician or I know of a former employee or credentialed clinician who would like to ensure MGH has their most uptodate mailing address How can I share this address ppFormer affected employees and credentialed clinicians will be notified by mail during the week of November 20 2023 We will use the mailing addresses we have on file If you are a former employee or credentialed clinician and you have not received information by mail by December 22 2023 please email email or 18883390437 pp12 I am a current employee or credentialed clinician and I have not received an email with information and an enrollment code for the free credit monitoring service What should I do ppIf you are a current employee of credentialed clinician and you have not yet received this information by email please email email or call 18883390437 pp13 I am having technical difficulties redeeming my enrollment code on TransUnions website What should I do ppIf you experience any technical difficulties accessing these services please contact TransUnion at 18882284939 pp14 I was already enrolled in credit monitoring services with TransUnion Can I still redeem the free twoyear credit monitoring services with MGH ppIf you are already enrolled in credit monitoring services with TransUnion you can use the code we provided you to extend your period of coverage You will need to contact TransUnion to do this Please contact TransUnion at 18882284939 for assistance pp15 Will enrolling in the credit monitoring service affect my credit score ppNo enrolling in the credit monitoring service will not affect your credit score We encourage eligible individuals to enroll in this service to protect themselves pp16 If it is confirmed that patients donors learners and volunteers are affected by the incident will they also be offered free twoyear credit monitoring services ppMGH will make further credit monitoring offers if warranted by the type of information exposed noting that the compromise of medical information is not typically associated with a risk of identity fraud pp17 Besides enrolling in the credit monitoring service what can employees and credentialed clinicians do to protect themselves and their data ppWe recommend enrolling in free twoyear credit monitoring services offered by MGH through TransUnion If you are still concerned you may consider the following ppContact TransUnion and Equifax the two primary credit bureaus in Canada and request a fraud alert be added to your account A fraud alert is free It is a statement you can add to your credit report that warns potential lenders that you may be a victim of identity theft Fraud alerts are proactive protective measures because they may cause lenders to take extra steps to verify identity Please note placing a fraud alert on your account may result in transactional delays with lenders Learn more about fraud alerts ppContact your bank to speak with them about what has happened Your bank may recommend next steps that you can take ppReview the resources available on the Canadian AntiFraud Centres website pp18 What can employees and credentialed clinicians do to protect themselves after the twoyear period that MGH is offering credit monitoring services for ppAfter your free twoyear credit monitoring service offered by MGH expires you may choose to add or maintain a fraud alert on your accounts with TransUnion and Equifax Canadas two primary credit bureaus A fraud alert is free It is a statement you can add to your credit report that warns potential lenders that you may be a victim of identity theft Fraud alerts are proactive protective measures because they may cause lenders to take extra steps to verify identity Please note placing a fraud alert on your account may result in transactional delays with lenders Learn more about fraud alerts pp19 After the twoyear period I would like to continue using the credit monitoring service with TransUnion Is this possible ppYes after the twoyear period you may enroll in TransUnions credit monitoring service on their website You may also contact TransUnion at 18882284939 for support pp20 What measures is the hospital taking to prevent further data security incidents ppWe have already begun making significant improvements to our network security When our investigation is complete we will respond to the learnings in a manner that better protects us from these types of data security incidents in the future In addition we are continuing to implement proactive measures to safeguard our hospital network and information systems pp21 How can I stay updated about this incident especially as new information emerges ppWe are committed to providing updates to current employees and credentialed clinicians by email and on our employee intranet as we learn more For all other groups including former employees and credentialed clinicians we will share updates through our website tehnca We encourage you to check back as needed pp22 I have questions and concerns about the incident that are not addressed on this page Who should I contact ppPatients and community members email ppCurrent and former MGH employees and credentialed clinicians email or 18883390437 ppMGH donors email ppMembers of the media email ppMichael Garron Hospitalpp825 Coxwell AvenueppToronto ON M4C 3E7ppPhone 4164618272ppFollow usp
