WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — Ascension, a major U.S. healthcare network, said Wednesday that its “clinical operations” were disrupted due to an alleged cybersecurity issue.
The nonprofit said it detected “unusual activity” on some of its technology systems and encouraged its business partners to temporarily suspend connections to the Ascension environment.
“Our care teams are trained for this type of disruption and have initiated steps to ensure the delivery of patient care remains safe and minimizes the impact wherever possible,” Ascension's statement said. stated in the statement.
Ascension said it has notified authorities and contacted third-party experts Madiant to assist with the investigation and remediation process. It also said it would continue to monitor “the impact and duration of the disruption.”
“We are working together to thoroughly investigate any information that may have been affected by this situation,” Ascension said. “If we determine that sensitive information has been affected, we will notify and support affected individuals in accordance with all relevant regulatory and legal guidelines.”
Ascension's network includes 35,000 affiliated providers and 140 hospitals in 19 states. The health system said it will notify business partners when it is safe to reconnect.
This is a developing story.
