Dive Brief:
- Kettering Health is facing a cyberattack that’s impacting patient care, the Ohio-based health system said Tuesday.
- The provider was hit by a system-wide technology outage Tuesday morning due to unauthorized access to its network, Kettering said in a press release.
- Elective inpatient and outpatient procedures at the health system’s facilities have been canceled for Tuesday. Kettering’s call center is also offline and might not be accessible, the provider added.
Dive Insight:
Kettering, which operates 14 medical centers and 120 outpatient facilities in Western Ohio, said only elective procedures are currently canceled. The health system’s emergency rooms and clinics are continuing to see patients, according to a press release.
“We have taken steps to contain and mitigate this activity and are actively investigating and monitoring the situation,” the system said.
The attack comes as cybersecurity has become a major challenge for the healthcare sector. An increased number of healthcare data breaches are linked to hacking or ransomware, a type of malware that denies users access to their data, according to a recent study published in JAMA Network Open.
Cyberattacks and IT system outages can also have significant consequences for patients, forcing health systems to delay care or divert emergency cases to nearby facilities. The industry is a lucrative target for cybercriminals, given providers’ motivation to end patient care disruptions and the high value of stolen medical records, experts say.
The healthcare industry has recently weathered major cybersecurity incidents. In early 2024, UnitedHealth-owned claims processor Change Healthcare was hit by a ransomware attack, exposing data from 190 million people — the largest healthcare breach ever reported to federal regulators.
The sector will continue to face cyberattacks and attempted intrusions, experts say. This year, Yale New Haven Health found an unauthorized third party had gained access to its network, comprising data from about 5.6 million people. Kidney dialysis provider DaVita also faced a ransomware attack last month.
