Southwestern Ontario hospitals will rebuild network from scratch amid fallout from cyberattack CBC News

pAll five southwestern Ontario hospitals impacted by a cyberattack just over two weeks ago will rebuild their networks from scratch the hospitals say in an update Wednesday ppBut the hospitals also say the investigation into precisely whose data was taken in the attack is expected to take months ppThrough our investigation we know that all our clinical and nonclinical systems were impacted as they are reliant on a safe secure network said a statement released by the hospitals IT provider TransForm and distributed by Windsor Regional Hospital HotelDieu Grace Healthcare Erie Shores HealthCare Bluewater Health and ChathamKent Health Alliance ppAccording to TransForm their experts have advised them rebuilding the network is the safest course of action ppThe Oct 23 attack has been contained the first of five steps to recovery but experts are still working on identifying the cause remediating the network restoring applications and continued monitoring ppRestoration efforts are on track officials said and restoration for digital patient charting is expected by midDecember which they said will reduce patient delays Other applications will come back online approaching midDecember ppThe update also specifies specifically which systems are impacted and what records doctors may not be able to access patient records and history medication lists preadmission workups or reports from other professionals involved in patients care ppWhile some of our systems are functional they are slower than usual and require extra time officials said in a release This affects access to labs and diagnostic imagingppThe hospitals say doctors will cancel procedures if they feel it is unsafe to proceed with some patient information missing Patients will be rescheduled as soon as possible the hospitals say ppResidents are also reminded to bring their health card to the hospital when seeking emergency care and to avoid the hospital except in true emergencies and attend local clinics or their family doctor where possible ppWe want to emphasize to our patients that our physicians and frontline staff are under greater than normal stress due to these unusual circumstances and they are responding with incredible resolve the hospitals saidppWe ask the public for their understanding during this time This has been a challenging situation for employees professional staff patients and families and we thank our community and system partners for their ongoing patience and supportppThe hospitals also say they have not paid any ransom demanded by the attackers Earlier this week they released a list of specific information affected by the hack including information about 56 million patient visits at Bluewater Health and the social insurance numbers of more than 1400 employees at ChathamKent Health Alliance ppTransForm has previously said international law enforcement agencies including Interpol and the FBI are involved in the criminal investigation Experts are also working to determine the specific people whose data may have been taken in the attack and that process is expected to take a number of monthsppA cybersecurity hotline has been established for patients available from 8 am to 11 pm Monday to Friday at 5194376212 ppMeanwhile the cyber criminals who have claimed responsibility for the ransomware attack have released a fourth batch of stolen data according to sources including the author of a blog that tracks data breachesppThe hackers told Databreachesnet they have posted 300 records containing sensitive health data according to the blogppCBC News has not independently verified the claims but has verified the identity of the author An expert told CBC while the author has a track record of credibility specific claims made by hackers should be taken with some skepticism ppThe author of Databreachesnet says the cyber criminal group Daixin Team has taken responsibility for the ransomware attack in communications with themppAudience Relations CBC PO Box 500 Station A Toronto ON Canada M5W 1E6 ppTollfree Canada only 18663064636ppIt is a priority for CBC to create products that are accessible to all in Canada including people with visual hearing motor and cognitive challengesppClosed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gemppp