Florida Department of Health cyberattack has caused problems for funeral homes

pTarik Minor Anchor ITEAM reporterppPublished July 5 2024 431 PMppUpdated July 5 2024 622 PMppTarik Minor Anchor ITEAM reporterppOne of the most important documents for families after a loved one has died is now one of the most transported documents in the stateppDeath certificates are now being physically driven to health departments for processingppThe News4JAX ITEAM told you Thursday that the Florida Department of Health online database was hacked by ransom thievesppThey gave the state until Friday to pay an unknown ransom however its illegal for any government agency to pay ransomppThe Florida Department of Health issues birth certificates death certificates and other health documentationppTo have everything completed a burial permit is accompanied with the death certificate Reginald McKinney funeral director of McKinney Family Funeral Home saidppMcKinney has been overseeing the funeral home business since 2009 He told News4JAX before the hack that all information regarding a persons death was submitted onlineppFuneral directors now have resorted to manually completing a death certificate by handppAnd the extra step that were having to take now is in order to get this certificate completed and filed we have to drive it to the health department and physically hand them the tangible paper in order for them to actually file the death certificate Before the cyberattack it was electronically done McKinney saidppDeath certificates are needed for multiple purposes like probating estates insurance claims social security Veterans benefits or obtaining retirement benefitsppMcKinney said death certificates are also essential for finalizing a loved ones final resting placeppFor instance when we take a person to the cemetery we have to have a burial permit not necessarily the death certificate completed but we would have had to contact the signing physician for that physician to agree that he will sign the death certificate before that person can be buried in a cemetery or actually be cremated he saidppFloridians may have to also wait longer to get official certificates of birthppAnd thats where the concern is with a breach like this how far can they go with all of that data theyve stolen Scott Schober CEO of Berkeley Varitronics saidppSchober said hackers could have gained access to the state system through something as simple as a phishing email with devastating consequences for those who havent taken steps to protect their credit informationppUnfortunately those that dont have their credit frozen those that arent checking their statements regularly because some of it likely has social security numbers and they believe there could be some billing information he saidppIt is illegal in the state of Florida for government agencies to pay the ransom to get their data restored its something cyber security expert Scott Schober said he agrees with to hopefully discourage these kinds of cyberattacksppCopyright 2024 by WJXT News4JAX All rights reservedppTarik anchors the 4 530 and 630 pm weekday newscasts and reports with the ITEAMppemailppfacebookpptwitterppClick here to take a moment and familiarize yourself with our Community GuidelinesppRecommended VideosppCookie PreferencesppIf you need help with the Public File call 904 3939801ppAt WJXT we are committed to informing and delighting our audience In our commitment to covering our communities with innovation and excellence we incorporate Artificial Intelligence AI technologies to enhance our news gathering reporting and presentation processes Read our article to see how we are using Artificial IntelligenceppCopyright 2024 News4JAXcom is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group a division of Graham Holdingsp