Healthcare Giant UHS Hit By Ransomware Attack, Sources Say (techcrunch.com) 19
Universal Health Services, one of the largest healthcare providers in the U.S., has been hit by a ransomware attack. "Looks like another case of ransomware at over 400 hospital locations," writes Slashdot reader nickwinlund77. "They've had to go back to pen & paper for handling forms." TechCrunch reports: The attack hit UHS systems early on Sunday morning, according to two people with direct knowledge of the incident, locking computers and phone systems at several UHS facilities across the country, including in California and Florida. One of the people said the computer screens changed with text that referenced the "shadow universe," consistent with the Ryuk ransomware. "Everyone was told to turn off all the computers and not to turn them on again," the person said. "We were told it will be days before the computers are up again."
It's not immediately known what impact the ransomware attack is having on patient care, or how widespread the issue is. UHS published a statement on Monday, saying its IT network "is currently offline, due to an IT security issue." "We implement extensive IT security protocols and are working diligently with our IT security partners to restore IT operations as quickly as possible. In the meantime, our facilities are using their established back-up processes including offline documentation methods. Patient care continues to be delivered safely and effectively," the statement said. "No patient or employee data appears to have been accessed, copied or otherwise compromised," it added.
It's not immediately known what impact the ransomware attack is having on patient care, or how widespread the issue is. UHS published a statement on Monday, saying its IT network "is currently offline, due to an IT security issue." "We implement extensive IT security protocols and are working diligently with our IT security partners to restore IT operations as quickly as possible. In the meantime, our facilities are using their established back-up processes including offline documentation methods. Patient care continues to be delivered safely and effectively," the statement said. "No patient or employee data appears to have been accessed, copied or otherwise compromised," it added.
Ya, but (Score:3)
They've had to go back to pen & paper for handling forms."
It's not that difficult to hand-stamp "Denied" on everything, just (even) slower than having their computers do it automatically.
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Now they sort of have to empathize with you and give you a sad look.
Re:Ya, but (Score:5, Interesting)
UHS is not an insurance company. UHS runs hospitals and provides services. They don't get paid when things get denied, their motivations are exactly the opposite.
You might be confusing them with UnitedHealth Group, or UHG.
Ironically, the evils UHS might do are things like prescribing unnecessary treatment, committing the mentally ill as dangerous when they are not, and billing for procedures they did not do. If anything, the big insurance companies not wanting to pay them, are one of the best defences their would be victims have.
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This is what you get (Score:3)
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You dumb MF-ers who keep paying these bastards. Stop it. Recover best as you can without paying the criminals, learn your lessons, invest in security, training, and backup infrastructure, and move on.
Ain't no stakeholder at UHS going to allow their quarterly profits to be wasted on training and infrastructure.
outsourcing at its finest (Score:1)
Where's the technical details, even minimal? (Score:2)
Are you paid to silence which operating system was impacted by the attack?
How do they know? (Score:2)
How can huge numbers of systems get rooted while concurrently statements like "No patient or employee data appears to have been accessed, copied or misused." always seem to make their way into these sorts of public announcements?
How would they know?
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Why can't these scumbags be caught? (Score:2)
I mean it. One woman has already died in hospital due to these bastards. Why can't anyone figure out how to apprehend these scum? If they are found to have ransomwared a hospital, the penalty is death. It's not funny.
National borders - countries without govt (Score:2)
When Fancy Bear does their job, working with GRU (Russian intelligence), who exactly is going to arrest them? Is their boss going to arrest them for doing their job?
Several countries have no effective government at all, and other places the government ranges from pure warlords to former warlords who have matured into perfectly corrupt governments, where "aw enforcement doesn't really exist in the way it does in the US - government workers are just the people you bribe for whatever you need.
In the US you mi
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Bitcoin - the gift that keeps on giving (Score:3)
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Bitcoin = eSwissBankAccount
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Just my dirty little opinion (Score:2)