The Surgeons of Lake County , located in the affluent northern Illinois suburb of Libertyville , revealed last month that hackers had burrowed deeply into its computer network , infiltrating a server where e - mails and electronic medical records were stored . But unlike many other data breaches , the hackers made no attempt to keep their presence a secret . In fact , they all but fired a flare to announce the break - in , taking the extreme step of encrypting their illicit haul and posting a digital ransom note demanding payment for the password . The doctors turned the server off and notified the authorities , refusing to pay . ;