((Automated translation by Reuters, please see disclaimer https://bit.ly/rtrsauto))
Hospital operator Ascension reported disruptions to its clinical operations on Wednesday due to a suspected cybersecurity incident and advised its business partners to temporarily disconnect from its systems.
Earlier this year, UnitedHealth UNH.N, the largest U.S. health insurer, reported a cyberattack on its technology unit – one of the worst hacks to hit the U.S. healthcare industry – which caused widespread disruptions in payments to doctors and healthcare facilities.
“Out of an abundance of caution, we recommend that our business partners temporarily suspend connection to the Ascension environment,” the healthcare network said in a statement.
It said it was continuing to investigate the situation after detecting unusual activity on its selected technology network systems. Access to some systems was interrupted while the process of assessing the impact and duration of the disruptions continued, Ascension added.
The organization has processes in place to ensure the delivery of patient care continues safely and with minimal impact, the nonprofit said.
Ascension also said it had retained an independent expert, Mandiant, to assist with the investigation and remediation process, and had notified the appropriate authorities.
Founded in 1999 as a Catholic nonprofit organization, the network includes approximately 134,000 associates, 35,000 affiliated providers and 140 hospitals, serving 19 states and the District of Columbia.
