A cyberattack has disrupted the computer systems of multiple hospitals in several states, with a severe impact on their operations.
Some emergency rooms in multiple hospitals in several states were forced to close and ambulances were diverted due to a cyberattack against their networks.
The cyberattack hit hospitals operated by Prospect Medical Holdings, which are located in multiple states, including California, Texas, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, many services across facilities in Pennsylvania were disrupted, including but not limited to Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Upland, Taylor Hospital in Ridley Park, Delaware County Memorial Hospital in Drexel Hill, and Springfield Hospital in Springfield.
Many primary care services were closed on Friday while third-party security experts started investigating the security incident. In some hospitals, elective surgeries, outpatient appointments, blood drives and other services were suspended on Thursday. In some hospitals, including the Waterbury Hospital, the medical staff was forced to use use of paper records.
Waterbury Hospital is following downtime procedures, including the use of paper records, until the situation is resolved
“Upon learning of this, we took our systems offline to protect them and launched an investigation with the help of third-party cybersecurity specialists,” reads a statement published by the company. “While our investigation continues, we are focused on addressing the pressing needs of our patients as we work diligently to return to normal operations as quickly as possible.”
The patients of the Manchester Memorial and Rockville General hospital in Connecticut were diverted to other nearby medical centers.
The impacted patients were being contacted individually, according to the company’s website.
At this time, the company did not share details about the cyberattack, however the impact on the operations suggests that the company was hit by a ransomware attack.
In June, the Idaho Falls Community Hospital was hit by a cyber attack that impacted its operations. Officials at the hospital confirmed that some clinics closed due to the cyber attack and some ambulances have been diverted to nearby hospitals.
Another hospital in the same region, the Mountain View Hospital, suffered a cyber attack. Officials confirmed that a malware infected some systems of the hospital’s IT infrastructure
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Pierluigi Paganini
(SecurityAffairs – hacking, Hospitals)
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