A server, which reportedly contained sensitive information on more than 230,000 patients, was hacked, and used to host the popular Call of Duty computer game for unidentified hackers. The server belonged to New Hampshire-based Seacoast Radiology, and was discovered to be compromised in November 2010 after an alert administrator investigated an apparent loss of bandwidth. According to Seacoast Radiology the server contained patient names, Social Security numbers, addresses and "basic medical diagnosis codes and basic procedure codes" for billing.

Investigators say they believe the hackers were from Scandinavia, though it is unlikely that the culprits will ever be caught. And while the break-in did not appear to be targeting the patient information, it would be foolhardy to dismiss the possibility that this data was compromised. The affected patients were mailed notification letters this week, and are advised to be on the alert for identity theft. For now, the relevant federal and state authorities have been informed, and a dedicated website was established in the wake of the breach to advise affected patients.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at The Register
- check out this article at Seacoast Radiology

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