Dentists’ bank account numbers and correspondence with a trade body are feared to have been stolen by hackers.<\/p>\n
The British Dental Association has told its members that it is still not sure exactly what was accessed in a breach on 30 July.<\/p>\n
A spokeswoman told the BBC it was possible that information about patients was exposed, but was vague about the potential context.<\/p>\n
The BDA’s website has been offline since the attack.<\/p>\n
It has urged members to be cautious of any correspondence claiming to be from a bank following the incident.<\/p>\n
The organisation is contacting those it thinks had data compromised.<\/p>\n
In an email to members, the BDA referred to “logs of correspondence and notes of cases” as being among the information it said it had to be assumed stolen.<\/p>\n
A spokeswoman initially told the BBC that the notes related to insurance claims, which could include patient information.<\/p>\n
But she later clarified this and said they referred to the BDA’s “work as a trade union representing member interests” without providing further information.<\/p>\n
The BDA does not hold full patient records.<\/p>\n
Its chief executive Martin Woodrow said that an investigation was still underway.<\/p>\n
“Owing to the sophistication of these criminals, we cannot, as yet, confirm the full extent of information that has been accessed,” he added in the email memo.<\/p>\n
“We are devastated and apologise unreservedly for this breach.”<\/p>\n
Source: BBC News<\/p>\n