Ascension Health Care Nonprofit Suffers Cyberattack, Prompts Patients to Cut Off Network Connections While Investigation Continues

A cyberattack has caused disruptions in clinical operations at major health care nonprofit Ascension, which operates 140 hospitals and 40 senior living facilities in 19 states. The organization is taking steps to minimize the impact on patient care. Ascension detected unusual activity on some of its computer systems, prompting an investigation and notification to authorities. Health care clients of Ascension are advised to temporarily cut off network connections to the organization while the incident is being addressed.

Ascension has initiated procedures to ensure that patient care delivery remains safe and minimally impacted. If any sensitive patient data was compromised during the hack, Ascension will notify those affected. However, it is not yet confirmed whether the incident involved ransomware or not. Health care providers in the US have experienced numerous ransomware attacks in recent years, disrupting patient care and costing millions, if not billions, of dollars.

In February, a ransomware attack on a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group caused billing disruptions at pharmacies across the US and threatened to put some health providers out of business. The Ascension spokesperson did not respond to follow-up questions regarding the nature of the cyberattack.