A cyberattack has disrupted clinical operations at major health care nonprofit Ascension, which includes 140 hospitals and 40 senior living facilities in 19 states. The organization is taking steps to minimize the impact on patient care.
The incident prompted an investigation and notification to authorities after Ascension detected unusual activity on some of its computer systems. In response, the health care clients of Ascension are recommended to temporarily cut off network connections to the organization while the incident is being addressed.
Ascension has initiated procedures to ensure patient care delivery continues to be safe and minimally impacted. If any sensitive patient data was compromised in the hack, Ascension will notify those affected. However, it is not confirmed whether the incident involved ransomware or not.
In recent years, health care providers in the US have suffered numerous ransomware attacks, disrupting patient care and costing millions, if not billions, of dollars. For example, in February a ransomware attack on a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group caused billing disruptions at pharmacies across the US and threatened to put some health providers out of business.
Ascension spokesperson did not respond to follow-up questions regarding the nature of the cyberattack.
