They may call you crazy but this is why it is wise to prepare for cyberattacks. What happened to a medical system could have been a catastrophe.
In an era where technology intertwines with our daily lives, the recent ransomware attack on Ardent Health Services reveals a vulnerable facet of our healthcare system. This incident, caused chaos for patients in emergency rooms in multiple states, and is an example of what could happen if a mass cyberattack took place.
On Thanksgiving, Ardent Health Services, which owns hospitals across six states, fell victim to a ransomware attack. This cyber event led to a drastic measure – taking their entire network offline. Everything from corporate servers to clinical programs was suspended. This included their Epic software, a critical tool for managing patient information and healthcare operations.
So think about it…the network that told nurses when to give medications to people hospitalized had to be taken down.
The consequences were immediate. Out of caution, Ardent’s hospitals began diverting some emergency room patients to other facilities and rescheduling non-urgent procedures. It’s a stark reminder of how a cyberattack can ripple through the healthcare sector, impacting not just data security but patient care.
Despite the chaos, Ardent affirmed that patient care continued “safely and effectively.”
As Ardent works to restore its systems and determine the full impact of the attack, the extent of compromised patient health or financial data remains unknown. At this time they have no idea how much data was taken or damaged. Imagine all of the records and what malicious activity could have taken place.
This is also a strong reminder to be prepared because an interruption like this on a larger scale could wreak havoc. What’s even stranger is that this didn’t even make a headline in the national news.