Hacker Gets Patient Credit Cards from North Carolina Providers

A hacker accessed personal and credit card information for patients of at least two health care organizations in North Carolina, coming in through the facilities’ Web sites built by the same vendor, E-dreamz Inc. in Charlotte.

The Charlotte Observer reports the hacker accessed names, contact information, dates of birth and credit card numbers 9,988 patients of Presbyterian Anesthesia Associates in Charlotte, and notes the vendor is not commenting on the breaches. The FBI has launched an investigation, according to a notice sent to local media.

WSOC-TV in Charlotte reports that nearly 2,000 patients of Piedmont HealthCare, a large group practice, also may have had their personal and credit card information accessed, and job applicants may have had their Social Security numbers accessed. Gregory Guin, CFO at Piedmont, told the news outlet that E-dreamz databases had been compromised.

Both organizations are offering affected patients paid identity protection services and implementing new web sites from other vendors.