Okayama Prefectural Psychiatric Medical Center: Possible Personal Information Leak of Approximately 40,000 Patients Due to Cyberattack

Okayama Prefectural Mental Health Medical Center announced that its information system was subjected to a cyberattack, potentially leading to the leakage of personal information of up to 40,000 patients. The prefectural mental health medical center located in Kita-ku, Okayama City, experienced a cyberattack on May 19th, rendering its electronic charts inaccessible. According to the hospital, the cyberattack was caused by "ransomware," a computer virus that encrypts data without authorization and demands a ransom. Newly discovered information revealed that patients' names, addresses, dates of birth, diagnoses, and treatment-related data may have been leaked externally. The leaked personal information could be as much as approximately 40,000 individuals. While no harm due to misuse of the information has been confirmed as of yet, the hospital plans to apologize to those potentially affected by the information leak and explain the situation. Additionally, the hospital will report the incident to the police and implement countermeasures, including regularly conducting security audits of its internal information system and encrypting information in the future. Ryoji Yamada, the president of Okayama Prefectural Mental Health Medical Center, stated in a press conference, "We deeply apologize for causing worry and inconvenience due to this incident."

Since the system malfunction occurred on May 19th, the hospital has been coping by using paper charts to maintain the patient care system and is working on restoring the system. Although the leakage of personal information has not been confirmed yet, the hospital is collaborating with external expert organizations to analyze the exact cause and investigate the possibility of leakage. Ransomware attacks have been increasing in Japan recently, particularly targeting medical institutions. As medical information contains sensitive personal data, the consequences of a ransomware attack can be severe for patients. This incident underscores the growing importance of enhancing cybersecurity in medical institutions.