A major hospital in northern Florida reported a security issue Friday that forced it to shut down its IT network, resulting in the diversion of some emergency medical services (EMS) patients and the cancellation of surgeries. .
write in blog post On Friday, Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare said it was following existing protocols for system downtime and taking steps to minimize disruption.
The hospital then issued an update on Saturday, saying it continued to divert some EMS patients.Also, all non-urgent surgical and outpatient procedures have been canceled and rescheduled until today (Monday). Confirmed.
“This is an active and ongoing investigation,” the post reads. “We contacted law enforcement when this incident occurred and continue to work with appropriate law enforcement agencies. We are also working with third-party experts to assist with the investigation.”
In a further update issued on Sunday, the hospital said all non-urgent surgeries and outpatient procedures scheduled for Monday have been canceled and rescheduled.
“We are still operating under downtime procedures, which means we are using paper documents. We apologize for any delays this may cause.”
According to Jan Lovmand, CTO of a security company, bull wallthe healthcare industry remains one of the sectors most at risk of cyberattacks.
“Hospitals and healthcare organizations are particularly attractive targets for cybercriminals, and because they rely on technology to manage everything from patient records to surgical instruments, they are uniquely vulnerable. This is exacerbated by limited resources to invest in cybersecurity measures,” said Lovemund. Information security on mail.
Security experts say these attacks not only disrupt the delivery of essential medical services, but also postpone critical surgeries and treatments, endanger the patient’s life But it also jeopardizes the security of sensitive patient information.
“The impact of these attacks can be devastating. Hospitals may struggle to recover data and regain control of their systems. Whether the ransom is paid or not. , dollar costs and lost patient care seriously undermine these already struggling facilities.”
At the time of this writing, it has not yet been confirmed whether the disruption at Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare was caused by a cyberattack or whether the hospital intends to keep the system offline.
For more information on how healthcare providers (HCPs) protect their customer data, visit This analysis By Michel Teuscher of Treasure Data.
