Community Health Systems, Inc. (the "Company"), one of
the largest hospital organizations in the country, announced via a
public filing (Form 8K) made yesterday with the Securities and
Exchange Commission ("Report") that the Company was the
target of a cyber attack that compromised the health data of
4.5 million individuals. The Company operates 206
general acute care hospitals in 29 states with approximately 31,100
licensed beds.
According to the Report, the Company and its forensic expert,
Mandiant, confirmed last month that the Company's computer
network was attacked in April and June, 2014 by an "Advanced
Persistent Threat" group that was traced back to China.
Using highly sophisticated malware and technology, the attacker
bypassed the Company's security measures and copied and
transferred outside the Company protected health information
("PHI") including names, addresses, birthdates,
telephone numbers and social security numbers of individuals
referred to
