(Marshalltown, IA) -- Wolfe Eye Clinic is notifying approximately 500,000 current and former patients that their personal information may have been inappropriately accessed in a cyber-related incident. Wolfe Eye Clinic says the attack happened February 8th, 2021, and involved an unauthorized third-party attempting to gain entry into the health care company's computer network. The attempt also involved blocking access to some systems and information.
Wolfe Eye Clinic has enlisted the help of independent IT specialists and investigators, who determined those behind the threat demanded a ransom, which was not paid.
The full scope of the information potentially was not fully realized until May 28th of 2021.
"We take our responsibility to protect personal information in our control very seriously and apologize for any concern or inconvenience this may cause," said Luke Bland, Chief Financial Officer at Wolfe Eye Clinic. "We continue to closely monitor this situation and are committed to notifying past and present patients about what happened and what they can do to protect their information."
The health care company says to date there have not been any reports of related identity theft since the incident occurred in February. Former and current patients as well as employees and some vendors are being notified out of an abundance of caution.
Photo: Wolfe Eye Clinic, West Des Moines