Cyberattack on largest Catholic hospital chain in the U.S. disrupts care 

Denver Newsroom, May 9, 2024 / 19:13 pm

Ascension Health, the largest chain of Catholic hospitals in the U.S., is investigating a cyberattack, according to a May 9 press release. 

“On Wednesday, May 8, we detected unusual activity on select technology network systems, which we now believe is due to a cybersecurity event,” Ascension indicated. “At this time we continue to investigate the situation.”

The cyberattack had affected “access to some systems” and caused “disruption to clinical operations,” the press release noted. 

The impact of the cyberattack is not yet clear, and Ascension — the fourth-largest hospital chain in the U.S. — is working to determine whether patients’ data was stolen. 

“Together, we are working to fully investigate what information, if any, may have been affected by the situation,” the release stated. “Should we determine that any sensitive information was affected, we will notify and support those individuals in accordance with all relevant regulatory and legal guidelines.”

The hospital chain has notified the authorities and is working with a third-party expert, Mandiant, to “assist in the investigation and remediation process,” but whether any sensitive information was stolen is unknown.

“We responded immediately, initiated our investigation and activated our remediation efforts,” the release noted. “Access to some systems have been interrupted as this process continues.”

Ascension noted that it is working to minimize any disruption to its clinical operations.

“Our care teams are trained for these kinds of disruptions and have initiated procedures to ensure patient care delivery continues to be safe and as minimally impacted as possible,” the statement read. “There has been a disruption to clinical operations, and we continue to assess the impact and duration of the disruption.”

This is not the first health organization to experience cyberattacks in recent weeks. UnitedHealth Group in April paid ransom to protect its patient data after a February cyberattack on its subsidiary Change Healthcare. 

With a deeply rooted Catholic legacy, Ascension credits its foundation to several religious orders that came together to sponsor its beginnings, including the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Nazareth, and three other religious groups. There are now 140 Ascension hospitals in the U.S., and Ascension provided $2.2 billion in care to people living in poverty in the fiscal year 2023, according to its website.