Alabama Ophthalmology Associates Data Breach: Sensitive Patient Info Exposed

On January 30, 2025, Alabama Ophthalmology Associates (AOA), a medical practice specializing in comprehensive eye care and surgical treatments, discovered unusual activity within its network environment. After noticing this suspicious activity, AOA immediately secured its network and brought in an independent digital forensics and incident response firm to conduct a thorough investigation.

The investigation revealed that an unauthorized actor accessed and acquired sensitive data from AOA's network between January 22 and January 30, 2025. The threat actor responsible for this breach has been identified as the ransomware group known as BianLian.

According to a dark web posting, BianLian claims to have obtained various types of sensitive information, including financial records, human resources data, personally identifiable information (PII) and protected health information (PHI) of patients, biometric data, private data of partners, vendors, and providers, mailboxes and internal and external email correspondence, and databases.

The types of personal and protected health information exposed in this breach include patient names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, health insurance information, treatment information, medical record numbers, and medical history details.

At this time, the exact number of individuals impacted by the breach has not been publicly disclosed.

Alabama Ophthalmology Associates's response

Upon discovering the breach, Alabama Ophthalmology Associates acted promptly by securing its network and engaging cybersecurity experts to investigate the incident. The investigation concluded on March 19, 2025, and AOA began notifying affected individuals on April 7, 2025.

AOA has established a toll-free call center to assist individuals who may have been affected by the breach. Representatives are available Monday through Friday, from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm CT, excluding holidays, and can be reached at 1-877-280-2754.

Additionally, AOA advises individuals to remain vigilant and take proactive steps to protect their personal information. The company recommends the following actions:

• Regularly monitor financial accounts and immediately report any suspicious activity to financial institutions.
• Obtain a free credit report annually from each of the three major credit reporting agencies by visiting AnnualCreditReport.com or calling toll-free at 1-877-322-8228.
• Consider placing a fraud alert or security freeze on credit files to prevent unauthorized credit activity. Instructions for placing fraud alerts and security freezes can be found on the websites of the three major credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.
• Visit the Federal Trade Commission's identity theft website for additional guidance on protecting against identity theft.

For more detailed information, individuals can review the full official notice provided by Alabama Ophthalmology Associates, available in PDF format on their website.

For more information about the practice, visit their official website at aoapc.com.