Pineland Data Breach Impacts 501: Full Incident Report

On Jan. 20, 2025, Pineland Community Service Board, a hospital and health care provider based in Georgia also known as Pineland BHDD, discovered suspicious activity on its network. An investigation revealed that an unauthorized actor had accessed certain systems at various times between Nov. 24, 2024, and Jan. 20, 2025. During this period, sensitive files were viewed or stolen.

The breach compromised both personally identifiable information (PII) and protected health information (PHI). Exposed information included names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, medical billing information, medical treatment information, dates of service, diagnosis information, medical record information and guardian information.

The incident was a ransomware attack carried out by a group known as Space Bears, which claimed responsibility on the dark web. The group stated they obtained the organization’s database and threatened to publish it within nine to ten days.

Pineland Community Service Board originally disclosed the data breach to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on March 20, 2025 and later reported the incident to the Massachusetts Attorney General's office on Aug. 27, 2025.

The organization published an updated Notice of Data Privacy Event on its website on Aug. 26, 2025 and notified affected individuals by mail. The total number of impacted individuals has not been released but is believed to be in the thousands.

Pineland Community Service Board's response

In addition to required state and federal disclosures, Pineland is offering free credit monitoring services to affected individuals. The organization also set up a dedicated assistance line at 833-998-6731, from 8:00 am-8:00 pm EST.

If you receive a notice from Pineland Community Service Board about this breach, you may want to:

• Sign up for the free credit monitoring services, offered by Pineland.
• 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.

More information about the organization can be found on the Pineland Community Service Board website.