Suit claims Md. pharmacist hacked hospital computers to watch coworkers undress and breastfeed
A former pharmacist at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore is accused of hacking into hundreds of computers to watch coworkers undressing and breastfeeding for almost a decade.
According to the Baltimore Banner, the pharmacist named in the civil suit was able to steal personal passwords from hospital computers and targeted at least 80 of his coworkers. He allegedly gained access to personal emails, texts and photo galleries.
The suit claims the hospital was negligent in maintaining cybersecurity protocols.
According to the complaint, he activated webcams in patient treatment rooms and watched and recorded coworkers he knew were breastfeeding.
In addition, using the stolen passwords, the pharmacist was able to gain access to at least one coworker’s home security system and watched her having sex with her husband.
“The scale of the privacy invasion giving rise to this action is as unprecedented as it is shocking,” said attorney Steve Kelly, in the suit filed in Baltimore Circuit Court. “A single pharmacist … installed spyware on at least 400 computers in clinics, treatment rooms, labs and a variety of other locations at one of the nation’s premier teaching hospitals.”
WTOP is not identifying the pharmacist named in the lawsuit since he has not, at this time, been charged with a crime.
In a statement, University of Maryland Medical System spokesman Michael Schwartzberg said, “The actions alleged in this matter run counter to every single value we stand for. At every level of our organization, we are deeply disappointed and angered at the actions of the individual at the center of this criminal investigation.”
“It is our most sincere hope and expectation that the person alleged to have violated the trust of his colleagues and of our organization will be held accountable to the fullest extend of the law,” according to the statement, adding that the hospital system is working with the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office in an active criminal investigation.
The lawsuit said the hospital should have known the former coworker was using his electronic badge to swipe into rooms and tamper with computers.
“We continue to take aggressive steps to protect our IT systems in this challenging environment,” Schwartzberg said, adding that healthcare organizations and their employees have recently “become the victims of cyberattacks from threat actors.”