The FBI confirmed it is working with Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare to assess the IT system outage that began on February 2.
WHY IT IMPORTANT
When the incident began, the hospital announced it was only accepting first-degree trauma patients from Leon County and surrounding counties. All non-urgent surgical and outpatient procedures have been canceled and rescheduled.
TMH posted reports over the weekend saying it has made progress in managing the event and that doctors have started seeing patients from today, despite surgeries and procedures again. canceled and rescheduled.
On the other hand, the hospital has been tight-lipped about the suspected cause of the power failure.
“We will provide updates as the investigation progresses, noting that security, privacy and law enforcement considerations affect the level of detail we can provide.” , the hospital said in a statement on its website.
Meanwhile, local WCTV reportedly received a statement via email from the FBI’s Jacksonville field office:
“While our policy prohibits us from confirming or denying the existence or status of a federal investigation, we are working with TMH’s security teams to assess the situation.”
According to the report, the Leon County Community and Resilience Administrator’s office also indicated that 80% of weekend EMS shipments went to HCA Florida Healthcare with only 12% of shipments going to TMH. .
TREND TO BIGGER
It is hardly surprising that this potential ransomware attack has plagued health care and urgent care in Tallahassee as the ransomware disruption has been going on for weeks and months.
With a spike in cyberattacks on healthcare organizations, a recent study published in the JAMA indicates that half of all ransomware attacks have disrupted healthcare delivery.
Based on the research team, common interruptions include electronic system downtime, at 41.7%, scheduled care cancellations, at 10.2%, and diversions. ambulance, at 4.3%.
In an email statement sent to Healthcare IT News From Adam Flatley, vice president of intelligence at cybersecurity service provider Redacted and former director of operations for the National Security Agency, it is clear that he and others believe the attackers ransomware is extorting TMH.
“These groups are deliberately targeting healthcare organizations because they know the emotional impact of doing so will force them to pay blackmail,” he said.
“What’s really missing is a well-coordinated public/private campaign against them aimed at dismantling their criminal organizations.”
ON PROFILE
Rebeccah Lutz, the hospital’s director of marketing and communications, said: “This is an ongoing, emerging situation that demands everyone’s attention at TMH. Democracy Tallahassee and other news agencies.
“It’s a hand-in-hand scenario and we’re doing everything we can to minimize the impact on patients.”
