Pharmacist allegedly spied on female doctors undressing, breastfeeding: lawsuit

Six women filed a lawsuit against a pharmacist who allegedly hacked hundreds of hospital computers to watch female doctors and medical residents undress and pump breastmilk for nearly a decade. 

What we know:

Dr. Matthew Bathula, a pharmacist at the University of Maryland Medical Center, is accused in a class-action lawsuit of carrying out nearly a decade of hacking in to hundreds of computers to spy on female coworkers, the Baltimore Banner reports.

Court documents allege that Bathula targeted at least 80 people, mostly female pharmacists, residents and other medical professionals. 

He allegedly accessed their computers to gain access to personal emails, texts, photo libraries and "private and sensitive electonrically-stored information. He's also accused of downloading nude photographs and recordings, including recording of women breastfeeding their children. 

One Howard County woman alleges that Bathula watched her while she was breastfeeding, undressing and having sex with her husband. Another plaintiff alleges he was able to see her personal photos, driver's license, passport and credit card information. 

"The scale of the privacy invasion giving rise to this action is as unprecedented as it is shocking," wrote Steve Kelly, their attorney. "For nearly a decade, a single pharmacist named Matthew Bathula 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."

What's next:

The six women are suing the University of Maryland Medical Center for negligence. The FBI is also investigating, according to the lawsuit. 

Bathula has not been charged with a crime. 

In a statement, the University of Maryland Medical Center said they had been working "over the past several months with the FBI and US Attorney’s Office who are engaged in an active criminal investigation." 

"Healthcare organizations and the people who work in them have unfortunately in recent times become the victims of cyberattacks from threat actors, and we continue to take aggressive steps to protect our IT systems in this challenging environment. We understand the sensitivity of some of the information involved in this matter and extend our deepest regret and compassion to those affected by this individual’s actions," said UMMC in a statement.