Hackers Target Eldercare Homes

Several nursing homes and eldercare facilities have suffered cyberattacks in recent months, with hackers stealing the personal, financial and medical information of a vulnerable population.

Providers that cater to the elderly are particularly susceptible to data theft and attacks by ransomware gangs. These facilities often lack sophisticated cyber or tech staff, and if a breach happens, it can take months for companies to figure out how and whether sensitive data was accessed or stolen. The elderly are a prime target for text, phone and email scams, as well as identity theft.

The New Jewish Home, a health and rehab center based in New York, discovered unauthorized activity on its network in January 2024. It took six months for the center to complete its review, determining that the data of more than 104,000 people was potentially compromised.

In a notice to clients, the home said it took steps after detecting the intrusion to engage third-party forensic specialists and strengthen network security.

Mystic Valley Elder Services in Massachusetts last year notified more than 87,000 people of a breach after an April 2024 hack. OnePoint Patient Care, which provides pharmacy services to hospices across the U.S., disclosed in November a data breach potentially affecting more than 1.7 million people involving personal information, diagnoses and prescription details.

When an eldercare center is breached, legal action often isn’t far behind. Kisco Senior Living based in Carlsbad, Calif., for instance, took 10 months to notify more than 26,000 people of a 2023 breach, according to a notification to state regulators. In an April 2024 blog post, law firm Markovits, Stock & DeMarco said it was investigating claims on behalf of victims whose data was entrusted to Kisco. Lawyers with the firm didn’t respond to a request for comment. A lawyer for Kisco also didn’t respond to a request for comment.