Cyber attack at Ascension hospitals: What we know so far

Operations at Ascension hospitals and facilities were disrupted this week due to a suspected cyber attack, the health care system announced Wednesday.

The system -- which runs 140 hospitals and dozens of senior living facilities across 19 states, including here in Michigan -- reported that “clinical operations” had been disrupted as of Wednesday, May 8. The announcement came after “unusual activity” was detected in the healthcare’s system, which they believe is “due to a cyber security event.”

Here’s what we know.

Scope of impact not yet known

Officials say the healthcare system responded immediately and activated their “remediation efforts.” Still, it wasn’t entirely clear just how much information may have been put at risk, based on the announcement posted Wednesday on Ascension’s website.

The organization said it’s working with a “third-party expert” to investigate what happened, and to see what information might have been affected.

“Should we determine that any sensitive information was affected, we will notify and support those individuals in accordance with all relevant regulatory and legal guidelines,” the system said.

It was not immediately known if personal patient information was obtained in the cyberattack.

Patient care disrupted

Some of Ascension’s systems have been interrupted due to the cyber attack and subsequent “remediation efforts,” officials said. It was not explicitly said what systems were affected or offline.

Officials did say that clinical operations were impacted by the cyber attack, though there were procedures in place to “ensure patient care delivery continues to be safe and as minimally impacted as possible.” Ascension also emphasized that health care workers are trained for these situations.

It wasn’t entirely clear to what extent patient care was affected, or where, as of Thursday morning.

Ascension operates multiple hospitals across the Metro Detroit area. In Detroit, the Ascension St. John Hospital was already dealing with alleged staffing issues and a strike.

---> ER doctors on strike at Ascension St. John Hospital over staffing issues

Cyber attacks are growing problem

Ascension did not say whether the cyber security issue was ransomware.

Ransomware, a type of cyber attack, is a growing problem across the U.S. Ransomware groups break into a person’s, company’s, or institution’s computer system, take hold, and demand ransom for its return.

Ransomware attackers can threaten to publish or block access to important information and files. Ransomware attacks may target individuals or large organizations, like hospitals or government offices.

U.S. hospitals and health care systems have been a large target for ransomware groups in recent years. These ransomware attacks can significantly disrupt care at health care facilities, and have costed some systems millions of dollars.

More generally, cyber attacks have ramped up across the board as our world, information, and everyday tasks become more digitized. Several experts have said cyber attacks have risen significantly in recent years across the globe, especially in 2023.

In a study supported by Apple, Professor Stuart Madnick found that “data breaches are now at an all-time high” for organizations in the U.S. A data breach is when someone (or someones) accesses sensitive consumer information without authorization to do so. That information may be shared or sold elsewhere.

“In just the first nine months of 2023, data breaches in the US ... already increased by nearly 20% compared to all of 2022 -- and organizations around the world have faced similar trends,” the study reads.

“These attacks are increasingly impactful because people are now living more of their lives online, meaning that corporations, governments, and other types of organizations collect more and more personal data -- sometimes with little choice from individuals. And because people’s most personal data can be exploited and sold for a significant profit, it’s become a growing target for cybercriminals.”

How to protect your information

Experts say that more than 2,200 cyber attacks occur each day in the U.S.

The following steps are recommended to help protect your information:

1. Don’t use the same pin (passcode) for your cellphone lock screen and your bank.
2. Don’t leave your device’s bluetooth on while in public spaces, when you can avoid it. Leaving your bluetooth on leaves you open for others to steal something.
3. Ensure your router and/or Wi-Fi network are protected with a secure and unique password.
4. Never hit “unsubscribe” on unsolicited spam. If you do this, you’re confirming your email address. Instead, mark the email as spam.
5. Never click on ads for random sites. Instead, visit the actual website by going there yourself.
6. Make better passwords that are at least 16 characters long.
7. Enable multi-factor authentication for your accounts to add an extra layer of security.
8. Another step you can take to better protect yourself and your information is to purchase a VPN, or a virtual private network, for your computers and/or phones. These private networks are meant to keep your activity and information secure. Some VPN companies offer services that can directly detect if your information has been leaked on the dark web.
9. Ensure the operating systems on all of your devices are up to date at all times.

What should you do if you get hacked?

1. First, disconnect your device from the internet immediately.
2. Have your device looked at by a specialist. (Be cautious when calling phone numbers for technical support that you find online. Scam artists may create authentic-looking websites that appear affiliated with your device’s manufacturer.)
3. Change all of your passwords.
4. Closely monitor your financial information. Contact your bank to change your account and card numbers, or to freeze your accounts, if necessary.
5. You can also request a credit freeze. Nationwide credit bureaus like Equifax, Experian and TransUnion allow people to institute a free credit freeze and request fraud alerts. Learn more about credit freezes and fraud alerts from the FTC here.
6. Report the incident to the FBI online here.

Recent data breach examples

---> AT&T users’ Social Security numbers leaked on dark web: What to know (April 2024)

---> What Corewell Health patients in SE Michigan need to know after another data breach (December 2023)

---> Xfinity notifies its customers of data breach linked to software vulnerability (December 2023)

---> Hackers access personal data of 1 million Michiganders in national data breach (November 2023)

---> Flagstar Bank warns customers about serious data breach in US (October 2023)

---> Data breach at MGM Resorts expected to cost casino giant $100 million (October 2023)