The health care sector is amidst a new ransomware wave. Oklahoma health system suffered a blow from hackers who knocked out one of its largest healthcare providers.
On June 13, the Stillwater Medical Center was hit by a ransomware attack, which crippled its electronic health record system. The attack caused electronic health record downtime, the hospital resorted to pen and paper.
Oklahoma’s Health System operates a number of clinics, specialist offices, hospitals, and care sites in the state.
After the attack impacted access to certain systems, the organization’s IT team immediately responded to the situation and secured the environment. Officials contacted law enforcement and involved a forensic firm to assist in the investigation and recovery process.
Following the attack, Stillwater‘s phone systems experienced major disruptions, the hospital urged patients to call 911 in the event of an emergency.
On social media, reports show that the online patient portal, email servers, and app were also affected by the incident.
The primary care clinics and other services provided by the health system are still ongoing. However, some appointments have been canceled and rescheduled. In the latest June 15 update, Stillwater said that the phone continues was working only intermittently throughout the health system.
This was the latest in a string of attacks on health care that has been reported recently. The incident at the Stillwater Medical Center bears the hallmarks of a ransomware attack on two University of Florida Health hospitals two weeks ago, the Villages Regional Hospital and Leesburg Hospital. The hospitals reported a suspected ransomware attack on May 31.
