Ascension St. Vincent hospitals, a non-profit healthcare network based in St. Louis (USA) that includes 140 hospitals in 19 states, has suffered a cyberattack that has caused the diversion of ambulances from several of its hospitals. The hacker attack has disrupted access to electronic health records, some phone systems, and various computer systems used to order specific tests, online procedures, and medications, causing significant service disruption.
Ascension has reported using “emergency procedures for some time” due to the attack. These procedures include using paper records and other backup processes to assist patients when computers are unavailable. The Department of Health and Human Services has identified the criminal activity as a ransomware attack called Black Basta. This type of attack, which has been increasingly used against healthcare organizations in recent years, involves cybercriminals attempting to lock computers and exfiltrate data for extortion.
