Cybersecurity breach impacts Ascension health system | News
A possible cybersecurity breach has interrupted operations at Ascension hospitals, according to a statement from the healthcare system.
Ascension healthcare detected “unusual activity” on some of its systems on May 8, according to the statement. Ascension said it immediately responded to the activity, launching an investigation and implementing a recovery strategy.
“Our care teams are trained for these kinds of disruptions and have initiated procedures to ensure patient care delivery continues to be safe and as minimally impacted as possible”, read Ascension’s statement. “There has been a disruption to clinical operations, and we continue to assess the impact and duration of the disruption.”
According to Ascension’s statement, the healthcare system is working with cybersecurity firm Mandiant to assist in its recovery efforts and investigative response. The health system intends to work with the firm to establish whether or not sensitive information has been impacted by the breach. In the event that sensitive information has been compromised in the attack, Ascension stated it will notify all affected parties.
The investigation into the attack is ongoing, and Ascension has stated it will provide updates as the investigation continues.
Ascension is one of the largest Catholic non-profit health systems in the nation, with 140 hospitals around the country, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Ascension reportedly runs 15 hospitals and 230 care centers in Illinois, including Ascension Resurrection hospital in Chicago.
The recent cyberattack on the Catholic health system follows similar attacks earlier this year. In January, Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago was affected by a massive ransomware attack which disrupted operations for several weeks.
