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 is calling the disruption a cybersecurity event after unusual activity was first detected on Wednesday. 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.”