Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Ascension Hospitals Report Cyberattack That Is Disrupting Clinical Operations
Ascension has detected a cybersecurity incident that is disrupting its clinical operations, and has advised business partners to disconnect from its systems. The nonprofit health system said Wednesday it had聽discovered "unusual activity" on select network systems that it believes is due to a cybersecurity event. An Ascension spokesperson did not respond to questions about the extent of the disruption. (Hudson, 5/8)
Cybersecurity firm Mandiant is aiding Ascension's investigation. Ascension said if sensitive information was compromised, it will immediately notify affected individuals. News outlets are reporting that the incident is affecting Ascension facilities in Florida, Wisconsin, Texas, Oklahoma, Indiana and Michigan.聽Ascension includes 140 hospitals and 40 older adult living facilities in 19 states. (Diaz, 5/8)
Ascension confirmed to the News Journal that it had detected 鈥渦nusual activity on select technology network systems鈥 early Wednesday afternoon. Ascension Florida spokesperson Gary Nevolis told the News Journal in a written statement that the health system responded immediately. Employees report to the News Journal that charting, scheduling and prescription writing systems are down. (Girod and Little, 5/8)