Ransomware attack on health giant Ascension hits 5.6 million patients


A May ransomware attack on Ascension, a U.S. healthcare giant with more than 140 hospitals and dozens of senior living facilities, allowed hackers to steal personal and sensitive health information on 5.6 million patients, according to a new filing with Maine’s attorney general.

The cyberattack caused widespread disruption across its hospital system, with some staff describing harrowing lapses in healthcare as a result, including delayed or lost lab results, and medication errors. The Black Basta gang was blamed for the attack, which saw the group steal patients’ medical information, like dates of service, lab tests, and procedure codes; payment information, such as credit card and bank account numbers.

Read more…
Source: TechCrunch News


Sign up for our Newsletter


Related:

  • Storm-0501: Ransomware attacks expanding to hybrid cloud environments

    September 26, 2024

    Microsoft has observed the threat actor tracked as Storm-0501 launching a multi-staged attack where they compromised hybrid cloud environments and performed lateral movement from on-premises to cloud environment, leading to data exfiltration, credential theft, tampering, persistent backdoor access, and ransomware deployment. The said attack targeted multiple sectors in the United States, including government, manufacturing, transportation, and ...

  • Ransomware Attackers Target Kansas Water Treatment Facility

    September 24, 2024

    On Sunday, a cyber attack on a water utility in Arkansas City, Kansas prompted its treatment facility to revert to manual operations. The city manager, Randy Frazer, confirmed that the water supply remains unaffected and safe, with no disruption to service reported. The plant’s manual operation is a precautionary measure to enhance security while the situation ...

  • 4 more nations sign on to US-led counter-spyware agreement

    September 23, 2024

    Austria, Estonia, Lithuania and the Netherlands on Sunday joined a U.S.-led pact designed to deter global spyware abuses, marking 21 nations signing onto the agreement after the alliance began with 11 participants in March of last year. The add-ins were fleshed out on the sidelines of the United National General Assembly, a State Department release said. ...

  • 100 million+ US citizens have records leaked by background check service

    September 23, 2024

    A background check left a huge database unprotected online containing 2.2TB of people’s data, according to research by Cybernews. The database was left passwordless and easily accessible to anyone on the internet by background check firm MC2 Data. MC2 Data gathers publicly available data to provide decision makers with information whether someone can rent a house, ...

  • Agri-Food Sector Under Increasing Threat From Cyber Attacks

    September 20, 2024

    As the agri-food sector increasingly embraces automation with GPS, robotic systems, cloud-connected devices, and AI-driven tools to boost efficiency and crop yields, cyber risks have been rapidly escalating. With ransomware attacks as the primary threat, the food and agriculture sector ranks as the seventh most targeted industry in the United States, just behind sectors like manufacturing ...

  • “Simply staggering” surveillance conducted by social media and streaming services, FTC finds

    September 20, 2024

    The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a report that examines the data collection and use practices of major social media and video streaming services, finding that the companies engaged in vast surveillance of consumers in order to monetize their personal information while failing to adequately protect users online, especially children and teens. The report, called ...