(WWJ) — Ascension hospitals nationwide are dealing with a massive cyberattack across 19 states, including right here in Michigan.
Officials with Ascension say the health system’s computer network was hit by a cyberattack Wednesday, disrupting its clinical operations into Thursday morning.
“We detected unusual activity on select technology network systems, which we now believe is due to a cyber security event. At this time we continue to investigate the situation. We responded immediately, initiated our investigation and activated our remediation efforts. Access to some systems have been interrupted as this process continues,” Ascension said on its website.
“Our care teams are trained for these kinds of disruptions and have initiated procedures to ensure patient care delivery continues to be safe and as minimally impacted as possible,” the statement said. “There has been a disruption to clinical operations, and we continue to assess the impact and duration of the disruption.”
Patients at Ascension hospitals reportedly had to wait hours for service and care on Wednesday and issues persisted into the next morning.
Ascension officials say they are working with Mandiant, a third-party company, to assist in the investigation and remediation process. The healthcare company has also notified proper authorities.
“Together, we are working to fully investigate what information, if any, may have been affected by the situation,” Ascension’s statement said.
If any sensitive information is determined to be accessed by the apparent cyber attack, Ascension says they will “notify and support those individuals in accordance with all relevant regulatory and legal guidelines.”
Ascension has more than 100 hospitals across the country, including several in Metro Detroit and across Michigan.