Up to 277 may have been affected by Equitas data breach

Up to 277 patients and staff at Equitas Health may have had their personal information compromised by a data breach.

The network of LGBTQ-specialized health centers, with a split headquarters in Dayton and Columbus, said the cyber attack appears to have been an unsuccessful attempt at wire fraud, not an attempt to gather personal information, but ultimately they don’t know for certain.

MORE: How to protect against Medicare fraud, predatory sales

“Patient trust and confidentiality are among our top priorities so we are taking this situation very seriously,” said Bill Hardy, president and CEO of Equitas.

Hardy said people who could have been affected have been notified directly and can get 12 months of free identity monitoring services.

Equitas hired a digital forensics team and a cybersecurity firm to investigate and help it respond.

“We regret that this incident occurred and are taking additional steps to strengthen our security to minimize the chance of an event like this happening again in the future,” Hardy said.

Equitas, formerly called the AIDS Resource Center Ohio, has 17 locations in 11 cities and states that it services more than 67,000 people each year in Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. Its range of services include primary and specialty care, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, HIV/STI prevention, advocacy and community health initiatives.

MORE: Google health care startup reported to be planning Dayton initiative