Scripps Health, a non-profit healthcare provider in San Diego, USA, has suspended user access to its online portal following a ransomware extortion attack. It is switching patient care operations to alternative methods.
According to local media reports, services to patients have been suspended following the attack. Some critically ill patients have been transferred to other hospitals, according to the report.
Interruption of patient’s therapeutic activity
Scripps Health detected the attack in the middle of the night on Saturday, May 2, 2021, and suspended user access to applications that connect to medical facilities, including MyScripps and scripps.org.
On Sunday, May 3, 2021, the healthcare provider was found to have explained that “patient care continues to be provided safely and effectively at our facility” despite the IT application being offline
Some facilities, including the emergency room center, Scripps HealthExpress, and the emergency department, are continuing to treat patients, according to Facebook.
Ransomware extortion attack claimed to have been carried out using a meticulous process. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, healthcare workers who kept paper records and electronically monitored patients’ vitals were also affected by the attack.
According to the paper, an internal memo from Scripps Health about the situation after the attack stated that the ransomware attack affected computer systems at the two hospitals, including access to medical images.
As a result of the attack, hospitals in Encinitas, La Jolla, San Diego, and Chula Vista are no longer able to accept stroke and heart attack patients, so they are being transported to other medical facilities.
Scripps Health is working to return to normal operations and has reported this situation to law enforcement and government agencies.
Scripps Health has five hospitals, 19 external collaborations and more than 2,600 affiliated physicians, and according to Fortune data, Scripps Health treats more than 700,000 patients each year
With quarterly revenue exceeding ¥79 billion ($790 million) by 2020, Scripps Health appears to have become an attractive target for profit-driven ransomware gangs.
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