Another ransomware attack surfaces online. The victim belongs to the health sector, thus affecting the patients. Reportedly, several hospitals in the US went down after a ransomware attack targeted Universal Health Services (UHS) hospital network.
UHS Hospital Under Ransomware Attack
The giant hospital network, Universal Health Services (UHS) has suffered a ransomware attack. Though, the service hasn’t explicitly admitted it yet. All they have disclosed is an IT security issue via their official statement.
The IT Network across Universal Health Services (UHS) facilities is currently offline, due to an IT security issue.
Following the attack, the service experienced serious disruptions. Some US hospitals even went down.
Spring Valley Hospital Las Vegas NV CANT TREAT PATIENCE EFFECTIVELY OR EFFICIENTLY because Computer System went Down about 11:00 pm 09/26/2020 Still down it’s 6:10 pm 09/27/2020 their excuse for not giving me Blood Transfusion I needed Yesterday Oh Lordy Please Say a Prayer
— Sassy Jacks (@jacks_sassy) September 28, 2020
For now, UHS has merely assured the security of patient’s data, besides mentioning to have collaborated with security partners.
We implement extensive IT security protocols and are working diligently with our IT security partners to restore IT operations as quickly as possible…
No patient or employee data appears to have been accessed, copied or otherwise compromised.
As for the treatments, UHS is striving to continue with the operations offline.
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.
Although, this disclosure has appeared relatively late since, according to the media reports, the attack happened over the weekend. This shut down of IT systems compelled the staff to “work with pen and paper”.
Ryuk Ransomware Suspected
While official sources haven’t confirmed a ransomware attack, unofficial sources suspect the involvement of Ryuk ransomware.
It seems #Ryuk ransomware has returned, not Conti actual Ryuk. @demonslay335 you getting any data to back that up as well? pic.twitter.com/YBHgsQoWNx
— PeterM (@AltShiftPrtScn) September 24, 2020
Also, some UHS facilities’ employees confirmed similar things in a Reddit thread.
Cyberattack on UHS Hospitals Nationwide Last Night from hacking
It seemingly appears that a different OG is behind this Ryuk attack that remained dormant for some time.
There are different groups using the Ryuk ransomware. But yes, the OG group that disappeared around April has popped up again about a week ago and we are seeing cases again. The fringe splinter groups however never really disappeared.
— Fabian Wosar (@fwosar) September 24, 2020
Universal Health Services (UHS) is a giant hospital network that boasts over 400 facilities across the US and the UK. It has over 90,000 employees and is among the Fortune 500 firms.
