Suspected cybersecurity attack at Ascension Health affecting Chicago hospitals

CHICAGO – A suspected cybersecurity attack continues to impact a healthcare system in the Chicago area.

Ascension Health operates 140 hospitals nationwide. Ascension Saint Joseph Chicago Hospital is one of more than a dozen area health centers hit by a suspected cyberattack that disrupted clinical operations.

Ascension told WGN News Thursday evening that its electronic medical records and phone systems were down nationwide and elective procedures were suspended due to an ongoing cybersecurity incident that was first discovered Wednesday.

“We are working around the clock with internal and external consultants to investigate, contain and recover our systems following a thorough validation and review process,” Ascension said in a statement on Thursday.

Ascension’s full statement can be read at the end of this article.

The health system said the investigation began immediately and that an outside group was hired to help with the remediation.

Hospitals in other states such as Kansas and Florida have reported significant impacts. Local media reported that ambulances were transferring patients to other hospitals.

The severity of the impact on Ascension hospitals in Chicago is unclear Thursday evening.

The cyberattack comes just months after Lurie Children’s Hospital took its systems offline for six weeks following a suspected ransomware attack.

WGN News spoke with a cybersecurity expert who says the issue involving Ascension Health has the hallmarks of a ransomware attack. Health systems are increasingly being targeted by hackers because they hold valuable data and provide critical care. So they need to get back up and running quickly, says Cyrus Walker, CEO of Data Defenders, LLC.

“This makes them a valuable and viable target for malicious actors who can reap financial gain from a successful attack,” Walker said. “It’s not a question of, ‘If it’s going to happen, but if it does happen, what is your ability to respond to it?'”

Ascension said: “Our care teams are trained to deal with these types of disruptions and have procedures in place to ensure patient care continues to be safe and disruption is minimized.”

Ascension’s full statement:

“On May 8, Ascension detected unusual activity in our network systems. We have determined that this is a cybersecurity incident. We work 24/7 with internal and external consultants to investigate, contain and recover our systems following a thorough validation and review process. Our investigation and restoration work will take time and we do not have a timetable for completion.

“Providing safe patient care remains our top priority as we address this cybersecurity incident. We actively support our ministries to continue to provide safe patient care with established response protocols and procedures in which our staff are well trained. It is expected that we will be using fallout procedures for some time. Patients should bring notes about their symptoms and a list of current medications and prescription numbers or the prescription bottles to their appointment so that their care team can report medication needs to the pharmacy.

“Systems that are currently unavailable include our MyChart electronic health record system (which allows patients to view their medical records and communicate with their providers), some telephone systems, and various systems used to order certain tests, procedures and medications . We have established protocols and procedures in place to address these particular system failures and continue to provide safe care to patients. However, out of an abundance of caution, some non-urgent elective procedures, testing and appointments have been temporarily suspended while we work to bring systems back online. Our teams work directly with any patient whose appointment or procedure needs to be rescheduled. We understand the frustration this can cause and sincerely regret the inconvenience this may cause to our patients.

“Due to downtime, several hospitals are currently diverted to emergency medical services to ensure emergencies are treated immediately. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, please call 911 and your local emergency medical services will take you to the nearest hospital emergency room.

“We are beyond grateful for the hard work and dedication of our care teams across the system and for their continued commitment to our patients. We also thank our patients and community for their continued support and patience during this time as we go through a careful, time-intensive process to restore systems as quickly and safely as possible. To ensure all patients, staff and stakeholders remain informed throughout this event, we will continue to post updated information on our website as it becomes available.”