A cyberattack against a hospital group in the United States forced the closure of emergency units and other critical health services at its facilities in at least four states, health sources reported on Friday.
Prospect Medical Holdings, which runs 16 hospitals in California, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, suffered a “data security incident,” a spokeswoman said in a statement.
“Upon finding out, we took our systems offline to protect them and launched an investigation with the help of external cybersecurity specialists”he added.
The group’s Waterbury Hospital in Connecticut reported that the computer outage was affecting all inpatient and outpatient procedures, forcing staff to use “paper records, until resolved.”
Eastern Connecticut Health Network notified that its urgent care center was closed and that elective surgeries were canceled until further notice.
The incident was suspected to be a ransomware attack or data hijacking but was still being investigated, the spokeswoman said.
These types of cyberattacks often gain access to vulnerable computer systems and encrypt or steal the data, before sending a ransom note demanding payment in exchange for decryption or not making it public. Healthcare groups are often the recurring target of these cyberattacks.
“While our investigation continues, we are focused on addressing the urgent needs of our patients and are working diligently to return to normal as soon as possible,” the statement read.
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