Aspire Rural Health System is notifying 138,386 people of a data breach following a cyber attack that started in November 2024. The incident was discovered in January 2025 when systems were impacted. Ransomware group BianLian later came forward to claim the attack.
In its notification, the Michigan healthcare company states that: “Aspire learned that an unauthorized party gained access to Aspire’s internal network from on or about November 4, 2024, to on or about January 6, 2025. Upon detecting the unauthorized activity, Aspire immediately worked to contain the incident and launched a thorough investigation.”
As we previously reported, the healthcare company noted a technical outage on January 6 with some systems being restored the following day.
Investigations into the attack continued until July 18, 2025. This week, Aspire started to notify those affected of the breach. Affected information includes:
- First and last names
- Dates of birth
- Social Security numbers
- Financial account numbers and routing numbers
- Medical treatment and diagnosis information
- Prescription information
- Individual health insurance information
- Payment card numbers, access PIN numbers, and payment card expiration dates
- Lab results
- Driver’s license numbers
- Passwords and usernames
- Biometric identifiers
- Patient identification numbers
- Medical record numbers
- Passport numbers
Those whose Social Security numbers have been affected are being offered access to free credit monitoring services.
BianLian claimed the attack and theft of data, which included patient records. Aspire hasn’t confirmed BianLian’s involvement, or whether or not a ransom was demanded/paid. Comparitech contacted Aspire for more information and will update this article if we receive a response.
Who is BianLian?
Since it first emerged in late 2021, BianLian has been confirmed as the group behind 88 attacks. Of these attacks, 35 are on healthcare companies with nearly 2.8 million records breached across these attacks. This highlights the gang’s focus on both the healthcare sector and data theft. Like many gangs, BianLian seeks to encrypt systems and steal data.
This attack on Aspire is the sixth largest healthcare breach via BianLian with the others including:
- Murfreesboro Medical Clinic – it was targeted in April 2023 with 559,000 records breached
- River Region Cardiology Associates P.C. – hit in September 2024 with 500,000 people affected
- Affiliated Dermatologists & Dermatologic Surgeons P.A. – breached in March 2024 with 373,680 records involved
- St. Clair Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine – attacked in November 2024 with 340,000 records affected
- Texas Retina Associates – 312,867 records impacted following a breach in April 2024
So far this year, we’ve noted 31 attacks via BianLian, four of which have been confirmed. The group stopped adding victims to its data leak site in March 2025.
Ransomware attacks on the US healthcare sector
In 2024, we noted 171 attacks on US healthcare companies. These attacks impacted nearly 28.4 million records in total.
Other recently confirmed attacks from 2024 include:
- Mid-Florida Primary Care – 16,435 people were recently notified of a breach from November 2024. BianLian was also behind this attack
- Good Samaritan Health Center of Cobb – Qilin claimed this November 2024 attack
- WPM Pathology Laboratory – 5,694 people were impacted in this breach following an attack via Fog in November 2024
So far this year, we’ve recorded 55 confirmed attacks and are tracking a further 120 unconfirmed attacks. While the healthcare industry didn’t see the same steep increase in attacks in the first half of 2025 as other sectors, it does remain a focus for ransomware gangs because of the huge disruptions system encryption and data theft can cause.
About Aspire Rural Health System
Aspire Rural Health System is made up of over 70 healthcare providers across Huron County, Lapeer County, Sanilac County, and Tuscola County. Its practices include Deckerville Community Hospital, Hills & Dales Healthcare, Marlette Regional Hospital, and The Heartlands Senior Living.
