A major health care nonprofit, Ascension, has experienced a cyberattack that has disrupted its clinical operations. The incident has forced Ascension to take steps to minimize any impact on patient care. Ascension includes 140 hospitals and 40 senior living facilities in 19 states. As a result of the attack, the health care clients of Ascension have been recommended to temporarily cut off network connections as the situation is being resolved.
The nonprofit detected unusual activity on its computer systems, prompting an investigation and notification to the appropriate authorities. Ascension has initiated procedures to ensure that patient care delivery continues to be safe and as minimally impacted as possible. If any sensitive patient data was compromised, Ascension will notify those affected by the hack.
It is currently unclear whether the cyberattack involved ransomware, a type of attack that locks computers until a fee is paid to hackers. Health care providers in the US have faced numerous ransomware attacks in recent years, some of which have disrupted patient care and cost health providers significant amounts of money. A ransomware attack in February on a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group caused billing disruptions at pharmacies across the US and posed a threat to the financial stability of some health providers.