Ascension reveals how ransomware attackers infiltrated

Ascension hospital system said a “small number” of files that may contain patient personal health information was taken by cyberattackers. 

In addition, the company announced that attackers were able to infiltrate the system because an employee downloaded a malicious file.  

“We have no reason to believe this was anything but an honest mistake,” Ascension said in a statement.  

Ascension is offering patients free credit monitoring and identity theft protection while identifying how many patients were affected and the extent of the data stolen. 

“Right now, we don’t know precisely what data was potentially affected and for which patients,” the company wrote in a Wednesday statement. “In order to reach those conclusions, we need to conduct a full review of the files that may have been impacted and carefully analyze them. While we have started this process, it is a significant undertaking that will take time.” 

A ransomware attack shut down the patient portal, electronic health system in early May and forced the hospital to move to paper systems and divert some services to other area hospitals. Patients experienced delays in service.  

Ascension was able to restore access to EHR in Tennessee on June 6, with plans to restore it in all areas by June 14. The company has also since restored its patient portal. Ascension said in a Wednesday statement that there is “no evidence that data was taken” from the EHR. 

This story was first published by our sister publication Nashville Post.