Optometry Office Hit by ‘Ransom’ Cyberattack

An optometric office in Prospect, CT, was hit by a cyberattack in which the word “Ransom” appeared on computer screens throughout the business.

The practice — Dr. Thomas DeLuca, Dr. Anthony Marciano & Associates — fell victim in late November to a ransomware attack, where the computers are frozen until the owner pays a ransom, the Republican-American reports.

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Personal information on 26,000 patients was also taken.

In a Jan. 25 statement posted on its website, the practice said: “At this time, we are not aware of any attempted or actual misuse of anyone’s information as a result of this incident.

“However, we have sent notification letters to potentially impacted individuals out of an abundance of caution to notify them of this incident and to provide resources to assist them.”

DeLuca said the hackers wanted $4,000, but he didn’t pay it.

“If I paid, my IT person said they’ll freeze (the computers) again,” he told the Republican-American. “I had good security, I have a good company, I don’t know how it got through.”

Read more at the Republican-American