Cybersecurity expert looks at what might be behind Ascension cyberattack
MEQUON — A major healthcare network is dealing with what it’s calling “a cybersecurity event.”
Ascension has locations in Southeast Wisconsin and across the country.
TMJ4 took phone calls and emails from people on Wednesday worried about the attack.
The scope of the attack remains unknown at this time, as does whether any data was compromised. Ascension said in a statement that there was a disruption in clinical operations.
Leaders with Ascension Wisconsin said they responded immediately, started an investigation, and began trying to fix the problem. Access to some systems may be interrupted while Ascension staff work on the issue.
“We are afraid that this is a trend that will continue to grow,” said Alex Holden of Hold Security.
Holden has been monitoring the situation since the news broke.
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“It looks a lot like a ransomware attack,” said Holden. “In some cases, organizations are able to shut down their systems to stop the bad guys from infiltrating them before something bad happens, but sometimes it’s already too late.”
Ransomware locks computers, so hackers can demand a fee.
Ascension said in its statement that it’s recommending business partners temporarily suspend the connection to the Ascension environment.
“There is a potential that Ascension can still let the bad guys in, and potentially, the bad guys are still inside the system, and they can affect the third parties as well,” said Holden.
The health system said that it would notify patients if any sensitive data was compromised in the hack.
“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,” Ascension told TMJ4 via email.
Holden recommends that those who use Ascension be patient and check ahead if they have upcoming appointments.
Here’s the full statement from Ascension Wisconsin:
On Wednesday, May 8, we detected unusual activity on select technology network systems, which we now believe is due to a cyber security event. At this time we continue to investigate the situation. We responded immediately, initiated our investigation, and activated our remediation efforts. Access to some systems have been interrupted as this process continues.
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. There has been a disruption to clinical operations, and we continue to assess the impact and duration of the disruption.
We have engaged Mandiant, a third-party expert, to assist in the investigation and remediation process, and we have notified the appropriate authorities. Together, we are working to fully investigate what information, if any, may have been affected by the situation. 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.
Out of an abundance of caution, we are recommending that business partners temporarily suspend the connection to the Ascension environment. We will inform partners when it is appropriate to reconnect to our environment.”
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