Ascension Health Care Nonprofit Suffers Cyberattack, Disrupting Clinical Operations and Leaving Patients in Limbo

Health care nonprofit Ascension has experienced a cyberattack that has disrupted clinical operations, prompting the organization to take steps to minimize the impact on patient care, an Ascension spokesperson confirmed to CNN on Wednesday.

Ascension, which operates 140 hospitals and 40 senior living facilities in 19 states, indicated that there was a disruption to clinical operations but did not provide specifics on the extent or duration of the disruption. As a precautionary measure, Ascension recommended that its health care clients temporarily disconnect from their network connections to Ascension while the incident is being addressed.

The nonprofit discovered unusual activity on some of its computer systems on Wednesday, prompting an investigation and notification to the appropriate authorities. Steps have been taken to ensure that patient care delivery remains safe and minimally impacted despite the cyberattack.

If any sensitive patient data was compromised in the hacking incident, Ascension stated that it would notify the affected individuals accordingly. Queries about whether the incident involved ransomware, which is used by hackers to lock computers and demand a fee, were left unanswered by the Ascension spokesperson.

Recent ransomware attacks on health care providers in the US have caused disruptions in patient care and financial losses running into millions or billions of dollars. In February, a ransomware attack on a subsidiary of the health care giant UnitedHealth Group resulted in billing disruptions at pharmacies nationwide and posed a severe threat to the financial stability of some health providers.