Month after cyberattack, Chicago children’s hospital says some systems back online

Doctors and nurses at a leading Chicago children’s hospital can once again access patients’ electronic medical records, more than a month after a cyberattack forced Lurie Children’s Hospital to take its networks offline

CHICAGO– Doctors and nurses at a leading Chicago children’s hospital have regained access to patients’ electronic medical records, more than a month after a cyberattack forced Lurie Children’s Hospital to take its networks offline.

The hospital provided the update Monday, saying its phone system is also fully functioning.

Officials had previously attributed the attack to a “known criminal threat actor” and said the hospital shut down its own phone, email and medical records systems as soon as the breach was discovered on Jan. 31.

The situation at Lurie Children’s Hospital had all the hallmarks of a ransomware attack, although hospital officials have neither confirmed nor denied the cause. Such extortion attacks are popular among ransomware gangs who seek financial gain by locking data, documents or other critical information and then demanding money to return it to the owner.

The FBI has said it is investigating.

Hospitals are an attractive target for attackers who know they rely on online technology.

Lurie Children treated approximately 260,000 patients last year.

The statement released Monday said a portal that allows patients and parents to access medical records and send messages to healthcare providers, called MyChart, remains offline.

“As an academic medical center, our systems are very complex and as a result the recovery process takes time,” the statement said. “Working closely with our internal and external experts, we are following a rigorous process as we work to fully restore our systems, including verifying and testing each system before bringing them back online.”