NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A ransomware attack on the Brentwood, Tenn.-based Ardent Health Service's chain of 30 hospitals in six states - Oklahoma, Texas, New Jersey, New Mexico, Idaho and Kansas - has forced the health company to divert patients from some of its emergency rooms to other hospitals, while putting certain elective procedures on hold.
The attack occurred Nov. 23. The company took its network offline, suspending user access to its information technology applications, including the software used to document patient care.
As of midday Tuesday, about half of Ardent’s 25 ERs were still operating on “divert,” meaning the hospitals have asked ambulances to take those needing emergency care to other facilities in their areas.
The company said it could not yet confirm the extent of any patient health or financial information that may have been compromised. Ardent reported the issue to law enforcement and retained third-party forensic and threat intelligence advisors and was working with cybersecurity specialists. There was no timeline yet to resolve the problems.
Ardent operates 30 hospitals and 200+ care sites those six states.
Each hospital is still providing medical screenings and stabilizing care to patients arriving at ERs, the company said.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. Ransomware criminals do not usually admit to an attack unless the victim refuses to pay.
A recent global study by the cybersecurity firm Sophos found nearly two-thirds of health care organizations were hit by ransomware attacks in the year ending in March, double the rate from two years earlier, (The AP 11/28/23) Ransomware attack prompts multistate hospital chain to divert some emergency room patients elsewhere | AP News
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