Millions of Americans could be affected by a recent ransomware attack on the large health system CommonSpirit Health that operates over 1,000 hospitals and care facilities in 21 states.
CommonSpirit Health was attacked by hackers on October 3. The attack forced the company to take several of its systems offline for security, according to a statement released shortly after the discovery.
Although it has not yet been confirmed whether patient health information was stolen, several patients have reported that this cyberattack has impacted their medical care.
See also: CISA: Iranian hackers breached organization with Log4Shell exploit
What we know so far about the attack on CommonSpirit Health:
What is CommonSpirit Health?
CommonSpirit Health is a non-profit health system, a “hospital chain” based in Chicago, operating 140 hospitals and more than 1,000 points of care in 21 states.
In 2019, CommonSpirit treated a total of 20 million patients, as reported on the Dignity Health International website.
What happened with the attack?
A ransomware attack hit CommonSpirit in October, blocking access to electronic records health and delaying patient care in many areas.
The cyberattack may have resulted in the theft of sensitive patient information, but this has not been confirmed.
The investigation is still ongoing by cybersecurity experts .
See also: Twitter: May soon bring end-to-end encryption to DMs
Who was affected and in what way?
Due to the ransomware attack, systems were taken down, making patients’ electronic medical records inaccessible. This had significant consequences for patient care and continued treatment
A woman said she took her son to MercyOne Des Moines Medical Center for dehydration the day the problems arose. According to her, a doctor told her that her son was given five times more pain medication than he needed after the electronic systems went down.
Another woman was scheduled to have a cancerous tumor removed from her tongue at Virginia Mason Franciscan Health in Seattle. According to KING-TV, the surgery had to be postponed because CommonSpirit Health's systems were down.
What is being done to improve this situation?
More than a month after the ransomware attack, CommonSpirit Health released an update on November 9 saying it was still working to fully restore its systems.
See also: FBI: TikTok compromises the security of the United States
The health system said electronic health records are now available in hospitals and clinics. Most patients can once again check their medical history through the patient portal. The organization is now working to restore appointment scheduling capabilities on the portal.
“At CommonSpirit Health, we are committed to meeting the needs of the communities we serve and are guided by our core set of values, which include integrity, excellence and collaboration,” CommonSpirit said. “We are grateful to our dedicated staff and physicians who are doing everything possible to mitigate the impact on our patients and maintain continuity of care.”
CommonSpirit Health claims to be focused on quality care for all and building healthier communities.
Source: www.foxnews.com
