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Diving brief:
- The Ascension said it was respond to a cybersecurity incident after discovering “unusual activity” on certain technology network systems on Wednesday that is disrupting clinical operations.
- The hospital operator initiated an investigation and remediation efforts, including connecting with a cybersecurity firm.
- Ascent initially recommended business partners temporarily suspend all connections to the health system technology environment. But IIn an update released Thursday, the operator said it was contacting its partners so they can take steps to protect their systems.
Dive overview:
Ascension, which operates 140 hospitals in 19 states and Washington, D.C., said it works with Mandiant, a Google subsidiary and a cybersecurity company, to assist in the investigation and determine whether the data was breached.
“Our care teams are trained for these types of disruptions and have initiated procedures to ensure the delivery of patient care continues to be safe and as minimally impacted as possible,” Ascension said in a statement. “There has been a disruption to clinical operations, and we continue to assess the impact and duration of this disruption. »
Cybersecurity has become a important problem for the healthcare sector as the sector digitizes, creating more opportunities for cybercriminals. Over the past five years, HHS has experienced a 256% increase in major breaches reported to the Office for Civil Rights regarding a computer hack.
Data stolen in the healthcare sector is particularly lucrative for hackers. Healthcare systems targeted by ransomware, a type of malware that denies users access to their data until a ransom is paid, may also feeling pressure to conform to criminals' demands to restore access to critical systems and technologies.
The Ascension incident comes after other major cybersecurity events hit the healthcare industry.
Change Healthcare, a technology company owned by UnitedHealth Group, was hit by a cyberattack in late February, stop key operations such as processing claims and paying providers.
Although the investigation is ongoing, the attack could have compromised data from a third party of Americans, according to Andrew Witty, CEO of UnitedHealth.
A data breach at Kaiser Foundation Health Plan This could have impacted the information of 13.4 million people, the organization reported last month. The health plan had discovered that online technologies may have sent data to third parties like Google and Microsoft.