MedStar Health revealed that a virus has taken down information systems at the hospital chain based in Washington, D.C.
The virus affected Washington’s Georgetown University Hospital and other medical offices in the region. Medstar said in a statement that the virus prevented some employees from logging into system but that all of its clinics remain open and functioning.
Here is the message MedStar posted on its website today:
“MedStar acted quickly with a decision to take down all system interfaces to prevent the virus from spreading throughout the organization. We are working with our IT and cybersecurity partners to fully assess and address the situation. Currently, all of our clinical facilities remain open and functioning. We have no evidence that information has been compromised. The organization has moved to back-up systems paper transactions where necessary.”
The FBI, meanwhile, is assessing whether the virus is a ransomware attack, in which hackers demand money in exchange for restoring the systems to normal, a law enforcement official told the Associated Press.
Ransomware has been on the rise lately, with attacks on Chino Valley Medical Center and its sister site Desert Valley Medical Center in California, and Methodist Hospital in Kentucky just this month. Shortly before those, Hollywood Presbyterian was forced to pay cybercriminals $17,000 in Bitcoin in mid-February.
Twitter: @Bernie_HITN
Email the writer: bernie.monegain@himssmedia.com
