Ascension experiences disruption of operations after ‘cybersecurity event’

On Wednesday, the Ascension Healthcare Network experienced a partial disruption of operations, with some systems remaining down after a “cybersecurity event”.

In a statement, Ascension said it has activated “remediation efforts” to thwart whatever was happening to its systems. An investigation is underway, with Ascension saying potentially compromised portions of its network have been isolated.

The company said it has brought in an outside cybersecurity firm, Mandiant Solutions, to aid in the investigation. Authorities were also alerted to the potential breach. For now, Ascension does not know if any personal or sensitive data on patients was accessed.

“Should we determine that any sensitive information was affected, we will notify and support those individuals in accordance with all relevant regulatory and legal guidelines,” the statement reads.