Nefarious hacker TheDarkOverLord (TDO) is attempting to extort Austin Manual Therapy Association (AMTA), which has two locations in Austin. TDO alluded to the hack at the beginning of the month on their Twitter account and specifically named AMTA a week later.
The hacker told DataBreaches.net that AMTA had not responded to its threat. Currently, AMTA’s website doesn’t have a breach notification listed. And the organization did not respond to a request for comment by time of publication.
[Also: TheDarkOverlord strikes again, attempts to extort healthcare provider]
While TDO didn’t provide DataBreaches with the complete database, it offered a sample of the data it hacked from AMTA. The data includes protected health information with individual details about named patients -- including UHC insurance authorization information.
It’s unknown when AMTA was hacked or when TDO first contacted the organization about the breach. This story will be updated if more information becomes available.
This is certainly not the first provider TDO has targeted this year. Protenus’ most recent breach barometer counts eight extortion attempts reported in September, all claimed by TDO.
In May, TDO honored their extortion attempt on Aesthetic Dentistry and OC Gastrocare and exposed the data of 180,000 patients. The hacker leaked celebrity patient data from California-based Dougherty Laser Vision in June. And just last month, TDO began attempting to extort Massachusetts-based SMART Physical Therapy. And there are others.
DataBreaches told Protenus that these extortion attempts are increasing in every sector and the “healthcare sector and education sector are prime targets for extortionists due to the sensitivity of the data and the lack of security when compared to other sectors.”
Twitter: @JessieFDavis
Email the writer: jessica.davis@himssmedia.com
