Ascension Healthcare Giant Forced To Take Systems Offline Following Cyberattack

American private healthcare giant Ascension suffered a cyber-incursion that forced the company to take parts of its IT infrastructure offline.

In a network interruption update posted on its company website, Ascension said it detected “unusual activity” on some of its network systems, which it later described as a “cyber security event”. When a company is forced to take systems offline due to a cyberattack, it’s usually a victim of ransomware. 

While Ascension did not describe the nature of the incident, given that it also suggested that some data may have been stolen, it all points to the attack being ransomware.

Disrupted activities

Ascension added it activated its incident response plan, notified relevant authorities, and brought in Google Mandiant experts to investigate .

“Together, we are working to fully investigate what information, if any, may have been affected by the situation,” the notification reads. “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.”

Shutting parts of the network down might affect its day-to-day operations to some extent, Ascension also added, without elaborating further:

“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.”

The company’s business partners are advised to “temporarily suspend the connection to the Ascension environment” out of an abundance of caution, it said. 

Ascension is one of the largest non-profit healthcare systems in the United States, operating hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities across the United States. It provides a wide range of medical services including primary care, specialty care, and hospital-based care. It operates 140 hospitals, 40 senior care facilities, and employs 8,500 providers. Its revenue for 2023, according to BleepingComputer, was $28.3 billion.

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