A prominent US healthcare system declared Thursday its redirection of ambulances from "several" of its hospitals in the wake of a cyber intrusion this week.
The cyber assault on Ascension, a nonprofit network headquartered in St. Louis encompassing 140 hospitals across 19 states, is also hampering access to electronic medical records, certain phone systems, and "various platforms employed for ordering specific tests, procedures, and medications," as per Ascension's statement disseminated Thursday evening.
The expansive healthcare conglomerate, which additionally operates 40 senior living facilities, disclosed it would be resorting to "downtime procedures for an extended period" due to the cyber intrusion. Downtime procedures typically entail healthcare providers reverting to backup methods, such as paper records, to ensure patient care in the event of computer outages.
Four sources briefed on the investigation informed CNN that Ascension fell victim to a ransomware attack, wherein cybercriminals typically seek to encrypt computers and pilfer data for blackmail. These sources indicated that the ransomware variant employed in the breach is identified as Black Basta, a tool recurrently utilized by hackers to target healthcare entities in recent times. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, Black Basta, also denoting a broad criminal syndicate employing the ransomware, includes individuals fluent in Russian.
News of the Ascension breach surfaced on Wednesday, and within the past 24 hours, Ascension has adhered to a familiar protocol observed by numerous American organizations besieged by cyber threats. Ascension has notified federal authorities of the incident, engaged the services of leading US cybersecurity firm Mandiant to remediate the breach, and initiated system shutdowns in an attempt to contain the situation.
Senior US officials have maintained frequent communication with Ascension CEO Joseph Impicciche since the ransomware attack to ascertain the potential impact on patient care, disclosed two sources familiar with the matter to CNN.
"We are actively supporting our ministries as they continue to deliver safe, patient care utilizing established downtime protocols and procedures, for which our staff is adequately trained," Ascension stated in its Thursday evening release.
The extent to which Ascension hospitals are diverting ambulances due to the cyber intrusion remains unclear. Ascension spokesperson Gene Ford did not respond to inquiries via calls and emails.
This incident marks the latest in a series of major hacking events that have crippled significant US healthcare networks, prompting swift action from US officials to extend assistance.
In February, a ransomware attack on Change Healthcare, a subsidiary of healthcare behemoth UnitedHealth Group, disrupted billing operations at pharmacies nationwide and posed a threat to the viability of certain healthcare providers. In testimony before Congress earlier this month, UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty estimated that a third of Americans may have had their personal information compromised in the breach. UnitedHealth disbursed a $22 million ransom to the cybercriminals in an effort to safeguard patient data, Witty disclosed.
The Change Healthcare breach incited outrage among US lawmakers and spurred inquiries across the federal government concerning the susceptibility of America's healthcare infrastructure to disruptive cyber threats with far-reaching ramifications — concerns that the Ascension
cyberattack only exacerbates.
