AHN donors may have been exposed to data breach, officials say

Donors to Allegheny Health Network might have had their personal information exposed during a ransomware attack earlier this year on an IT company used by hundreds of hospitals, universities and other nonprofits, officials said Friday.

Blackbaud, a global tech company, provides cloud computing services to a slew of institutions including AHN, which uses the company to maintain its fundraising records and database of donors.

The breach did not include any credit card, bank account or Social Security information, according to Blackbaud and AHN officials, and “there is no evidence” any data that was breached was made public outside of the cyberattack.

Health network representatives are in the process of contacting donors who might be affected, according to a statement.

“AHN is continuing to closely monitor the situation alongside Blackbaud’s cybersecurity team, independent forensics experts and law enforcement agencies, and it will keep its donors appropriately informed of any further developments,” the statement read.

In September, Phipps Conservatory announced to past and present members that it, too, was affected by the attack on Blackbaud.

The letter to members stated: “Based on our communications with Blackbaud and an in-depth review by our IT team, we understand while a ransomware attack occurred sometime in early 2020, it did not access credit card information, bank account information, passwords or any other private financial data because these fields were encrypted.”

Names, emails and addresses, however, might have been exposed, Phipps officials said.

Other local organizations affected include The Frick, the University of Pittsburgh, Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, according to a list published in the San Antonio Business Times.

A number of international organizations also were affected by the data breach, according to a July list from the BBC, including the Boy Scouts of America and the American Civil Liberties Union.