Albany

St. Peter's Surgery & Endoscopy Center is notifying patients that hackers may have gained access to complete Social Security numbers contained in their records. It is offering a year of free credit monitoring and theft protection services, according to the center and a letter sent to some patients this week.

The center, affiliated with St. Peter's Hospital, first reported hackers may have compromised the records of up to 135,000 patients in late February. The breach was the second largest in the state since 2016, according to reports on file with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights.

After its initial letter to patients informing them of the breach, "we determined that some individuals' Social Security numbers were contained within their private insurance identification number on file with the surgery center," it said in a statement to the Times Union Wednesday. "We remain committed to providing our patients with the assistance they need to protect themselves moving forward."

The center, in its statement, also said it had no indication that any information on the hacked servers has been misused, but is offering a year of credit monitoring and identity protection services "out of an abundance of caution."

A spokeswoman for the center didn't quantify how many of the 135,000 patients may have been vulnerable to the theft of their Social Security numbers.

The hack of the computer servers was discovered Jan. 8. Patients were advised to monitor their insurance statements for any unauthorized charges or services they didn't receive. The hack was reported to federal regulators at the end of February.

The center is jointly owned by AGC Associates LLC and St. Peter's Hospital of the City of Albany, according to state records.

The surgery center hack is the largest since the August 2016 breach of 3.4 million patient records from Albany-based Newkirk Products, which issues identification cards for a number of health insurance plans.