2023-08-05 00:55:00
Last Updated Saturday, 5 August 2023 – 00:55
The incident was suspected to be a ransomware attack or data hijacking, but was still being investigated.
The Southern California Hospital in Hollywood.Damian DovarganesAP
A cyberattack against a US hospital group forced the closure of emergency units and other critical health services at its hospital facilities. at least four states, health sources reported on Friday.
Prospect Medical Holdings, which runs 16 hospitals in California, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, suffered a “data security incident,” a spokeswoman explained in a statement sent to AFP.
“Upon finding out, we took our systems offline to protect them and launched an investigation with the help of external cybersecurity specialists,” he added.
He Hospital Waterbury from the group in Connecticut reported that the computer outage was affecting all inpatient and outpatient procedures, forcing staff to use “paper logs, until resolved.”
The Eastern Connecticut Health Network notified that their urgent care center was closed and that elective surgeries were canceled until new notice.
The incident was suspected to be a ransomware attack or data hijacking but was still being investigated, the spokeswoman said.
This type of cyber attacks often access vulnerable computer systems and encrypt or steal the data, before sending a ransom note demanding payment in exchange for decryption or not making it public.
Healthcare groups are often the recurring target of these cyberattacks.
“While our investigation continues, we are focused on addressing the urgent needs of our patients and are working diligently to get back to business as soon as possible,” the statement read.
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