Major Florida Hospital Shuts Down Networks, Ransomware Attack Suspected

A important hospital  in northern Florida noted a security issue on Friday that forced the shutdown of its IT network and the consequent diversion of some crisis medical services (EMS) patients and cancellation of surgeries.

Crafting in a web site article on Friday, Tallahassee Memorial Health care stated it was next present protocols for process downtime and getting actions to lessen the disruption.

The medical center then published an update on Saturday, expressing it continued to divert some EMS patients. It also verified that all non-unexpected emergency surgical and outpatient procedures had been canceled and rescheduled until now (Monday).

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“This is an lively, ongoing investigation,” reads the submit. “We contacted legislation enforcement when this incident occurred, and we continue to perform with the correct legislation enforcement companies. We are also working with 3rd-party experts to assist in the investigation.”

In a additional update printed on Sunday, the medical center claimed that all non-unexpected emergency surgical and outpatient methods scheduled for Monday were canceled and rescheduled.

“We are still operating underneath downtime treatments, which means we are using paper documentation. We apologize for any delays this may generate.”

According to Jan Lovmand, CTO of security organization BullWall, the healthcare sector stays one particular of the most at-risk sectors for cyber-attacks.

“Hospitals and health care corporations are particularly eye-catching targets for cyber-criminals, and their reliance on technology to manage all the things from individual data to surgical devices would make them uniquely susceptible. This is compounded by their constrained methods to commit in cybersecurity actions.” Lovmand advised Infosecurity in an email.

The security skilled extra that these attacks not only disrupt the shipping and delivery of vital medical companies, suspending critical surgical procedures and remedies and putting patients’ life at risk but also compromise the security of delicate individual information.

“The impression of these attacks can be devastating, as they can depart hospitals struggling to recuperate their facts and regain control of their systems. Whether or not the ransom is compensated or not, the fees in dollars and lost patient care severely cripple these presently having difficulties establishments.”

At the time of writing, it has not nonetheless been confirmed no matter whether the Tallahassee Memorial Health care disruptions were being brought about by a cyber-attack or how prolonged the clinic intends to keep its program offline.

Much more information and facts about how healthcare vendors (HCPs) can secure customer knowledge is available in this assessment by Treasure Data’s Michelle Teuscher.