TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The Florida Department of Health is responding to a cyberattack that has slowed the distribution of death certificates. However, issues still linger. The healthcare industry is a bullseye for hackers who engage in cyber-criminal ...

Weeks after Florida’s health department learned its vital statistics system had been hacked by cyber-thieves, the scenario for families seeking funeral services is “chaotic,” says Crystal Van Orsdel Marchant, assistant vice president at Van Orsdel Funeral & Cremation Service. The problem?

The Florida Department of Health confirmed to Channel 9 on Friday that it was the target of a hack by a criminal hacking group.

Floridians’ recent HIV test results, detailed doctors’ notes and immunization and virus testing records were among thousands of state health department files seized by hackers — and released on the dark web last week.

Of the 19 documented cyberattacks this year in Florida, 18 have been health care-related, including the city of Saint Cloud’s health care plan and the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Of those incidents, over 156,000 individuals were affected.

This new cyber attack has disrupted the state’s ability to issue death and birth certificates, and the breach might be putting sensitive patient data at risk.

More than three months after a computer system serving as a backbone of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice was hacked, many contractors providing services to at-risk and troubled youths remain unable to access the network.

The agency confirms a ransomware attack occurred with the Vital Statistics System, which is used to process birth and death certificates ─ and holds patient information.

Now, the agency’s online system is shut down, impacting state offices to funeral homes. It’s affected families getting their loved ones’ death certificates and has delayed families from claiming benefits like life insurance.