Texas healthcare provider UMC Health System was forced to divert some patients to other locations after a ransomware attack impacted its operations. Being the only 'Level 1 Trauma Center' within 400 miles, the UMC Health System in Lubbock plays a critical role for patients in need of urgent surgical care. Bill Toulas Bill Toulas is a tech writer and infosec news reporter with over a decade of experience working on various online publications, covering open-source, Linux, malware, data breach incidents, and hacks. Through the ongoing investigation, we determined that the unusual activity was connected to a ransomware incident.” – UMC. Medical prescription lists are unavailable at the UMC clinics due to the IT system outage, so patients are advised to bring them with them when visiting. Ransomware attacks are typically accompanied by data theft, and in this case, the sensitive medical information of hundreds of thousands could be impacted. UMC has not touched the subject in its latest status update and noted that the investigation into the security incident is still ongoing, and updates will be provided when more information becomes available. The cause of the IT outage, according to the healthcare organization, was a ransomware attack. Immediately after detecting this activity, our teams launched an investigation and took steps to proactively disconnect our systems to contain the incident. UMC is a large healthcare provider operating 30 clinics across West Texas and Eastern New Mexico, which are visited by 400,000 patients annually. Finally, establishing communication over the phone or online portal cannot be guaranteed at this point, so those in need of immediate assistance are advised to visit a clinic.
This Cyber News was published on www.bleepingcomputer.com. Publication date: Tue, 01 Oct 2024 17:30:30 +0000