Ascension 2nd major hospital chain hit by cyberattack

 

The largest Catholic hospital chain in the U.S. confirmed this week that a “cybersecurity event” took place in its network, making it the second hospital system this year to experience this kind of incursion.

Ascension Health disclosed Thursday it had detected “unusual activity on select technology network systems” earlier this week.    “At this time we continue to investigate the situation. We responded immediately, initiated our investigation and activated our remediation efforts. Access to some systems have been interrupted as this process continues,” the company said in a statement.    Having brought on the third-party cybersecurity firm Mandiant, Ascension said it is still figuring out “what information, if any, may have been affected by the situation.”    This attack comes amid scrutiny of cybersecurity in health care, and just months after Change Healthcare, a subsidiary of top U.S. healthcare conglomerate UnitedHealth Group, was hit by a cyberattack that halted insurance payments to hospitals across the country.    UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty recently confirmed to Congress that his company paid a ransom of $22 million in an attempt to protect patient information. He estimated the breach impacted about one-third of the entire country.    Ascension’s network encompasses roughly 134,000 associates, 35,000 affiliated providers and 140 hospitals across 19 states and Washington, D.C., according to the company’s website.    “We are reaching out to our business partners to ensure they are aware of the situation so they can take appropriate steps to safeguard their systems. We encourage all business partners to coordinate with the Ascension Technology partners to address any specific questions,” Ascension’s statement on Thursday read.  https://thehill.com/newsletters/health-care/4657291-second-major-hospital-chain-hit-by-cyberattack/