According to officials, a cyberattack on a US hospital organization has caused the closure of urgent care and other crucial health services at its locations in at least four states.
Prospect Medical Holdings, which manages 16 hospitals in California, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island, experienced a “data security incident,” according to an AFP spokesperson.
“Upon learning of this, we took our systems offline to protect them and launched an investigation with the help of third-party cybersecurity specialists,” she said.
The group’s Waterbury Hospital in Connecticut said the computer outage was affecting all inpatient and outpatient operations, with staff using “paper records, until this is resolved.”
Eastern Connecticut Health Network has closed its urgent care clinic and canceled elective operations until further notice.
The event appeared to be a ransomware assault, but it was still being investigated, according to the spokeswoman.
Ransomware attacks often infiltrate susceptible computer systems and encrypt or steal data before sending a ransom note demanding payment in exchange for decrypting the data or not publicly disclosing it.
Healthcare groups are frequently targeted.
“While our investigation continues, we are focused on addressing the pressing needs of our patients as we work diligently to return to normal operations as quickly as possible,” said the statement.
