While many were looking forward to the Labor Day holiday weekend, the IT department at OakBend Medical Center learned they had been hit with a ransomware attack. The center is still trying to recover. DataBreaches.net reports.
In a notice on its website, the Texas medical center disclosed that after being hit by ransomware on Sept. 1, it promptly took all systems offline, placed them in lockdown mode, and referred the attack to the FBI, CYD, and the Ft. Bend County Government Cyberteam to investigate. When experts from Dell, Microsoft, Malware Protects, and their IT staff cleared them to start rebuilding their system, they started rebuilding it.
As of September 9, OakBend reported they were still in the process of rebuilding and that phones and email were still impacted. Alternative phone numbers were posted prominently to assist patients in reaching them.
Of note, their notice stated, “At no time was patient safety ever in jeopardy.”
OakBend, which describes itself as the last remaining independent nonprofit hospital in the Greater Houston Area, has 450 physicians, more than 1200 employees, 274 beds, and more than 50 locations. On an annual basis, they see more than 8,500 inpatients, 100,000 outpatients, and 40,000 Emergency Room visits. Read more.
