Travis County Health District Central Health Hit With Cyberattack

AUSTIN, TX — Central Health — the local public agency connecting low-income Travis County residents with quality health care — is investigating a recent cyberattack, officials said this week.

Central Health officials wrote in an advisory that its technology team first discovered the attack on Dec. 4. An investigation into unauthorized access on a computer server has since been launched to assess the extent of the breach and any data that may have been compromised, officials said.

“The incident is potentially a criminal act, and we’re working closely with law enforcement in the investigation,” Central Health President & CEO Mike Geeslin said in a prepared statement. “While we do not believe employee or patient data was compromised, we’re not taking anyone’s security for granted and a thorough forensic investigation is required.”

Central Health officials added that forensic specialists now are conducting a forensic analysis of the affected hardware, software and data. The investigation is being coordinated with law enforcement and Central Health’s affiliates CommUnityCare Health Centers, Sendero Health Plans and the Community Care Collaborative, officials added.

But the investigation has yet to determine what data was breached or whether the data of other organizations has been affected, officials said. More information will be shared at the conclusion of the investigation, they added.

“Our team sees thousands of attempted attacks on our system every day, and we do not take them lightly,” Central Health Chief Information Officer John Clark said in a prepared statement. “Fortunately, our Tech Team has people and systems in place for this reason - to detect an attack early on. Because of these efforts, we believe the attack was not fully carried out.”

The health care district serves low-income residents while the Central Health Technology Team serves the Central Health Enterprise: CommUnityCare Health Centers, Sendero Health Plans, and the Community Care Collaborative.