Ascension hospitals investigating possible data breach after cyberattack disrupts clinical operations

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Clinical operations at Ascension hospitals across the country were disrupted on Wednesday following a suspected cyberattack.

Ascension, which is one of the largest nonprofit healthcare systems in the United States, said in a statement it detected unusual activity on select technology network systems, which it believes is due to a “cyber security event.”

Ascension said Thursday morning it responded immediately and is investigating but access to some systems has been interrupted as the process continues.

“Our care teams are trained for these kinds of disruptions and have initiated procedures to ensure patient care delivery continues to be safe and as minimally impacted as possible. There has been a disruption to clinical operations, and we continue to assess the impact and duration of the disruption,” Ascension said in a statement.

The hospital system is now using a third-party expert to help in the investigation and it has alerted authorities.

“Together, we are working to fully investigate what information, if any, may have been affected by the situation. Should we determine that any sensitive information was affected, we will notify and support those individuals in accordance with all relevant regulatory and legal guidelines,” Ascension said.

It’s not clear if the “cyber security event” involved ransomware, which can lock computers so hackers can demand a fee.

According to CNN, healthcare providers across the US have suffered numerous ransomware attacks in recent years, some of which have disrupted patient care and cost healthcare providers millions, if not billions, of dollars.

Ascension is a health system that includes 140 hospitals and 40 senior living facilities in 19 states, including multiple locations around Northeast Florida.