Black Hills Eye Institute Data Breach: 200 GB Stolen

On Jan. 8, 2025, Black Hills Regional Eye Institute detected suspicious activity within its network. An investigation was launched and on Feb. 7, 2025, it was determined that patient information was accessed and acquired by a cybercriminal as early as January 4, 2025.

The data breach exposed both personally identifiable information (PII) and protected health information (PHI). Compromised information includes names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, dates of service, driver's license numbers, insurance information, diagnostic treatment, medical record numbers, medical histories, medication treatment locations, medications, provider names, surgical information and credit card information.

The Qilin ransomware group, which claimed responsibility on the dark web and alleged it had obtained 200 GB of the institute’s data. The Qilin ransomware group is known for targeting healthcare providers and leaking sensitive data on the Tor network if ransom demands are not met.

Black Hills Regional Eye Institute published a Notice of Data Security Incident on its website on Aug. 29, 2025 and is notifying affected individuals by mail beginning on Aug. 29, 2025. The total number of impacted current and former patients has not been released.

The data breach was disclosed to the Maine Attorney General’s office on Aug. 28, 2025.

Black Hills Regional Eye Institute’s response

In addition to required state and federal disclosures, the eye care organization is offering individuals whose Social Security numbers were compromised free Experian IdentityWorks credit monitoring services.

If you receive a data breach from Black Hills Regional Eye Institute, you may want to:

• Sign up for the free credit monitoring services, if offered.
• Monitor your credit reports and financial accounts for any unusual activity.
• Be alert for phishing emails or phone calls that may use your exposed information.
• Consider placing a fraud alert or credit freeze with major credit bureaus.

For more about the medical practice, visit the Black Hills Regional Eye Institute website.