Wow, this is a crazy and scary story.  WWMT says a doctor’s office in Battle Creek had ransomware put on their computers and when they refused to pay the hackers, their entire system was wiped clean, deleting every file the doctor’s office had stored, including patient records.

WWMT reports Brookside ENT and Hearing Center had their systems locked up by hackers and were being told if they paid $6,500 they would get a code to unlock the computers.  The two doctors decided not to pay the ransom, because of A) not knowing if it would work and B) obviously, the hackers would probably try again.  So when they didn’t pay, hackers erased EVERYTHING, appointments, billing, and patient records, all of it gone.

Brookside ENT and Hearing Center told WWMT, all the patient files were encrypted and the hackers wouldn't have been able to access them, but they were able to delete them.

Instead of trying to rebuild their business from the ground up, the two doctors decided to retire early.  The office staff is trying to be as helpful as they can with answering questions and giving referrals until the office officially closes on April 30th, according to WWMT.