20MILLION Americans in 21 states still at risk of faulty healthcare after cyberattack | Daily Mail Online
EXCLUSIVE: 20MILLION Americans in 21 states 'are still at risk of dangerous healthcare after cyberattack': IT breach at one of biggest hospital chains in the US has already caused overdoses, cancer delays and ambulance diversions
Boy, 3, in Iowa was overdosed on pain meds, critical scans and surgery have been delayed due to cyber-hack
CommonSpirit Health runs 140 hospitals and over 1,000 care sites including cancer clinics and stroke hubs
The FBI and Department of Justice have refused to reveal the scale of the attack, despite multiple requests
Security experts told DailyMail.com that doctors not having access to medical records is 'very dangerous'
CommonSpirit said on Wednesday the 'majority' of providers now have access to electronic health records
Reddit users claiming to work at impacted hospitals warned the situation had led to 'terrible and unsafe' care
HAVE YOU BEEN AFFECTED BY THE COMMONSPIRIT HACK? Get in touch at [email protected]
By CAITLIN TILLEY, HEALTH REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 16:08, 11 November 2022 | UPDATED: 21:51, 11 November 2022
e-mail
108
shares
312
View comments e-mail
Top
+99Home
312
View comments
Twenty million Americans are at risk of 'dangerous' healthcare after a cyberattack at one of the country's biggest hospital chains last month, security experts have told DailyMail.com.
CommonSpirit Health — a system that runs 140 hospitals, and more than 1,000 care sites including cancer clinics, surgery hubs and stroke centers— suffered a major IT breach on October 3 in a ransomware hack.
The FBI, Department of Justice and CommonSpirit have refused to comment on the scale of the attack, how many sites were affected and whether or not the issue has been resolved — despite multiple requests by DailyMail.com.
ADVERTISEMENT
It means Americans across 21 states could still be at risk of receiving faulty care, and there are already signs the cyber hack has had real consequences on patients.
A three-year-old boy in Iowa was accidentally given a megadose of opioids on October 4 when the computer system which tells doctors how much medication to give was shut down.
And other patients — including those with brain bleeds, ovarian cysts and cancerous tumors — saw their surgeries delayed by up to a month, despite being referred for 'urgent' care. Ambulances were also diverted away from a struggling hospital which was hit by the cyberattack to one not run by CommonSpirit.
Anonymous posts by people online claiming to work at CommonSpirit hospitals around the country described patient care as 'terrible and unsafe' since the attack, claiming they are treating patients without full access to their digital medical records.
James McGibney, a former cybersecurity expert for the marines, told DailyMail.com the situation could still be ‘very dangerous’, especially if doctors are indeed are caring for patients without access to their files.
He said: ‘They know they still need to treat the patient, but they're going based off what the patient is telling them... there's so many things that could go wrong… next thing you know, something catastrophic happens with the patient.'
In a chilling admission, Ken Westin, a cybersecurity expert, said the IT breach could have 'significant' impacts on patients without them even knowing it.
Boy, 3, in Iowa was overdosed on pain meds, critical scans and surgery have been delayed due to cyber-hack
CommonSpirit Health runs 140 hospitals and over 1,000 care sites including cancer clinics and stroke hubs
The FBI and Department of Justice have refused to reveal the scale of the attack, despite multiple requests
Security experts told DailyMail.com that doctors not having access to medical records is 'very dangerous'
CommonSpirit said on Wednesday the 'majority' of providers now have access to electronic health records
Reddit users claiming to work at impacted hospitals warned the situation had led to 'terrible and unsafe' care
HAVE YOU BEEN AFFECTED BY THE COMMONSPIRIT HACK? Get in touch at [email protected]
By CAITLIN TILLEY, HEALTH REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM
PUBLISHED: 16:08, 11 November 2022 | UPDATED: 21:51, 11 November 2022
108
shares
312
View comments e-mail
Top
+99Home
312
View comments
Twenty million Americans are at risk of 'dangerous' healthcare after a cyberattack at one of the country's biggest hospital chains last month, security experts have told DailyMail.com.
CommonSpirit Health — a system that runs 140 hospitals, and more than 1,000 care sites including cancer clinics, surgery hubs and stroke centers— suffered a major IT breach on October 3 in a ransomware hack.
The FBI, Department of Justice and CommonSpirit have refused to comment on the scale of the attack, how many sites were affected and whether or not the issue has been resolved — despite multiple requests by DailyMail.com.
ADVERTISEMENT
It means Americans across 21 states could still be at risk of receiving faulty care, and there are already signs the cyber hack has had real consequences on patients.
A three-year-old boy in Iowa was accidentally given a megadose of opioids on October 4 when the computer system which tells doctors how much medication to give was shut down.
And other patients — including those with brain bleeds, ovarian cysts and cancerous tumors — saw their surgeries delayed by up to a month, despite being referred for 'urgent' care. Ambulances were also diverted away from a struggling hospital which was hit by the cyberattack to one not run by CommonSpirit.
Anonymous posts by people online claiming to work at CommonSpirit hospitals around the country described patient care as 'terrible and unsafe' since the attack, claiming they are treating patients without full access to their digital medical records.
James McGibney, a former cybersecurity expert for the marines, told DailyMail.com the situation could still be ‘very dangerous’, especially if doctors are indeed are caring for patients without access to their files.
He said: ‘They know they still need to treat the patient, but they're going based off what the patient is telling them... there's so many things that could go wrong… next thing you know, something catastrophic happens with the patient.'
In a chilling admission, Ken Westin, a cybersecurity expert, said the IT breach could have 'significant' impacts on patients without them even knowing it.
