University of Vermont Health Network

The University of Vermont Health Network operates as a health network that owns and manages six hospitals located across Vermont and northern New York. Its headquarters is situated in the United States of America. The organization delivers healthcare services to residents of these states, focusing on inpatient, outpatient, and emergency care provided through its hospital facilities. As a regional health network, it integrates operations across its multiple sites to support coordinated patient care. The network’s scope is limited to the geographic area of Vermont and the northern portion of New York State.

The organization has been the target of several notable cybersecurity incidents that have affected its operations and patient data. In October 2020, a system‑wide network disruption followed a cyberattack, impacting all six hospitals and causing an extensive technology outage with no immediate restoration timeline. Earlier, in October 2018, unauthorized access to an employee’s email account exposed personal and medical information of approximately 32,000 patients, including Social Security numbers for a subset. A phishing incident in May 2017 compromised another employee’s email account, potentially affecting about 2,300 patients with clinical details but not Social Security numbers. These events highlight the network’s reliance on electronic systems and the importance of robust security measures to protect health information.