Ascension healthcare giant was forced to take systems offline after a cyber attack
US private healthcare giant Ascension suffered a cyber attack that forced the company to take parts of its IT infrastructure offline.
In a network outage update On its corporate website, Ascension said it had detected “unusual activity” on some of its network systems, which it later described as a “cyber security event.” When a cyber attack forces a company to take systems offline, it usually falls victim to ransomware.
While Ascension has not detailed the nature of the incident, all indications are that the attack is ransomware.
Disrupted activities
Ascension added that it had activated its incident response plan, notified relevant authorities and engaged experts from Google Mandiant to investigate.
“Together we are working to fully investigate what information, if any, may have been impacted by the situation,” the message read. “Should we determine that sensitive information is involved, we will notify and support these individuals in accordance with all relevant regulatory and legal guidance.”
Shutting down parts of the network could impact daily operations to some extent, Ascension also added, without elaborating further:
“Our care teams are trained for these types of disruptions and have initiated procedures to ensure the delivery of patient care remains safe and unaffected as possible. There has been a disruption to clinical activities.”
The company’s business partners are advised to “temporarily suspend connection to the Ascension environment out of an abundance of caution,” the report said.
Ascension is one of the largest not-for-profit healthcare systems in the United States, with hospitals, clinics and other healthcare facilities across the United States. It offers a wide range of medical services, including primary care, specialty care and hospital care. It operates 140 hospitals, 40 senior care facilities and employs 8,500 healthcare providers. The turnover for 2023, according to BleepingComputeramounted to $28.3 billion.