An Ascension spokesperson said it detected “unusual activity” Wednesday on its computer network systems. Officials refused to say whether the non-profit Catholic health system, based in
But the attack had the hallmarks of a ransomware, and Ascension said it had called in
Ascension said that both its electronic records system and the MyChart system that gives patients access to their records and allows them to communicate with their doctors were offline.
“We have determined this is a cybersecurity incident,” the national Ascension spokesperson’s statement said. “Our investigation and restoration work will take time to complete, and we do not have a timeline for completion.”
To prevent the automated spread of ransomware, hospital IT officials typically take electronic medical records and appointment-scheduling systems offline.
The Ascension spokesperson's latest statement, issued Thursday, said ambulances had been diverted from “several” hospitals without naming them.
In
The EMS service for
And
But she said everything has slowed down because electronic systems are built into the hospital’s daily operations. Younger providers are often unfamiliar with paper copies of essential records and it takes more time to document patient care, check the results of prior lab tests and verify information with doctors’ offices, she said.
Smith said union leaders feel staff and service cutbacks have made the situation even tougher. Hospital staff also have received little information about what led to the attack or when operations might get closer to normal, she said.
“You’re doing everything to the best of your ability but you leave feeling frustrated because you know you could have done things faster or gotten that patient home sooner if you just had some extra hands,” Smith said.
Ascension said its system expected to use “downtime” procedures “for some time” and advised patients to bring notes on their symptoms and a list of prescription numbers or prescription bottles with them to appointments.
Cybersecurity experts say ransomware attacks have increased substantially in recent years, especially in the health care sector. Increasingly, ransomware gangs steal data before activating data-scrambling malware that paralyzes networks. The threat of making stolen data public is used to extort payments. That data can also be sold online.
“We are working around the clock with internal and external advisors to investigate, contain, and restore our systems,” the Ascension spokesperson's latest statement said.
The attack against
It was unclear Friday whether the same group was responsible for both attacks.
Witty said
They also have said they see no signs that doctor charts or full medical histories were released after the attack. Witty told senators that
A ransomware attack in November prompted the
___
Murphy reported from
Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
, source