By Jeff Wardon, Jr., Assistant Editor

Community Health Center, Inc. (CHC), a health center in Connecticut, experienced a criminal cyberattack on January 2, according to a press release. A hacker accessed and stole some data but did not disrupt operations or delete files. Some 1,060,936 individuals were affected in this breach, according to the Office of the Maine Attorney General. CHC quickly contained the breach and brought in security experts to investigate and enhance system protection. 

The compromised data includes personal and health information for CHC patients, such as names, birthdates, contact details, medical records, Social Security numbers and insurance information, according to CHC’s press release. For individuals who received COVID tests or vaccines at CHC, the exposed data is more limited but may include similar personal details. CHC has strengthened its security measures and is monitoring for suspicious activity. No evidence of data misuse has been found so far.  

Healthcare Facilities Today has reported on five cyberattacks in just the first month of 2025, with that number likely to grow in the coming months. A recent report put out by Netwrix found that 84 percent of healthcare organizations detected a cyberattack in the past year. 

Cyberattacks are an increasingly common threat for healthcare facilities, meaning mounting an effective defense is crucial. Healthcare organizations must look at their data, identify the most critical data they have and then build their defenses around that by investing in strong cybersecurity tools, Eric O’Neill, former counterterrorism and counterintelligence operative for the FBI, previously told Healthcare Facilities Today. 

However, O’Neill adds that organizations need cybersecurity training and technology that allows them not to just build defenses but also hunt down potential threats. 

“Cybersecurity also must be a spy hunter for you,” says O’Neill. “It needs to hunt down that threat that is trying to compromise your data and prevent it from exfiltrating that data.” 

Jeff Wardon, Jr., is the assistant editor for the facilities market.