FBI: Data breach reported at Gwinnett Medical Center

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — The FBI is investigating after someone posted patient information from Gwinnett Medical Center on Twitter, saying the hospital had been hacked.

There are 40 victims in all.

Beth Hardy, a spokeswoman for the hospital system, characterized the event as a “security incident” instead of a breach.

The names, dates of birth and genders of 40 patients were accessed by an unauthorized party and exposed on Twitter, Hardy said. That information has not yet been removed from Twitter, she said.

No Social Security numbers or medical information is believed to be compromised, Hardy said.

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"Just the fact that my name is out there with that information. I probably have people Googling me right now," one of the data breach victims told Channel 2's Berndt Petersen, asking not to be identified.

The woman told Petersen she was a patient at the hospital five years ago.

“We are taking the personal security of information very seriously,” Hardy said. “We are committed to maintaining the confidentiality of our patients.”

The hospital system is cooperating with law enforcement, including the FBI, in investigating the incident. The hospital insisted that patient care inside their facilities has not been impacted.

Those assurances were little comfort to the woman whose name has been posted on social media for the world to see.

"You know, the fact that I'm going to have to freeze my credit now to try to protect myself. At this point, I don't know where it came from, who did it and why they did it. I'm just angry that it happened," the victim said.

Amanda C. Coyne of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution contributed to this article. 

Cox Media Group