SEATTLE – DECEMBER 1, 2023 – Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center today announced the detection of unauthorized activity on limited parts of the Center’s clinical network. Upon learning of the situation, Fred Hutch took immediate action to quarantine the servers and contain the impact of the incident, including proactively taking their clinical network offline. Fred Hutch promptly notified federal law enforcement and retained a leading forensic security firm to further investigate the incident.
All Fred Hutch clinics remain open and actively serving patients as the investigation continues.
Fred Hutch is committed to the safety, wellbeing, and safeguarding of patient and employee information and is continuously updating and enhancing systems to prevent external parties from accessing information. We have implemented additional defensive tools and increased monitoring to further protect data.
Fred Hutch is working to complete the investigation as quickly as possible and will contact any individuals whose information was involved. As a precautionary measure, Fred Hutch recommends individuals remain vigilant to protect against potential fraud and/or identity theft by reviewing account statements, monitoring credit reports, and notifying financial institutions of any potential suspicious activity. Individuals may also wish to review the tips provided by the Federal Trade Commission (or FTC) on fraud alerts, security/credit freezes and steps that they can take to avoid identity theft.
For more information and to contact the FTC, please visit https://www.identitytheft.gov/#/ or call 1-877-ID-THEFT (1-877-438-4338). You may also contact the FTC at Federal Trade Commission, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20580.
Additional information can be found on Fred Hutch's dedicated webpage, or those impacted can contact the call center for support at 1-888-983-0612.
Media Contact:
206-667-2210
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Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center unites individualized care and advanced research to provide the latest cancer treatment options while accelerating discoveries that prevent, treat and cure cancer and infectious diseases worldwide.
Based in Seattle, Fred Hutch is an independent, nonprofit organization and the only National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center in Washington. We have earned a global reputation for our track record of discoveries in cancer, infectious disease and basic research, including important advances in bone marrow transplantation, immunotherapy, HIV/AIDS prevention and COVID-19 vaccines. Fred Hutch operates eight clinical care sites that provide medical oncology, infusion, radiation, proton therapy and related services. Fred Hutch also serves as UW Medicine’s cancer program.