A cyberattack on the University Medical Center in Lubbock, Texas, severely impacted hospital operations on Friday, forcing it to limit services and turn away ambulances due to malware infections in its computer systems. While most emergency care facilities have resumed normal operations, the hospital announced on Monday that it would continue to divert incoming emergency and non-emergency patients via ambulance to nearby health facilities as a precautionary measure.
The statement emphasized the hospital’s commitment to minimizing disruptions to patient care while an investigation into the incident remains ongoing.
As a level-one trauma center—the only one within nearly 400 miles—any disruption to the hospital’s services poses a significant risk to those requiring urgent medical attention. Hospital staff detected unusual activity on their IT network, which prompted them to disconnect it from the main computer system and seek assistance.
According to John Shier, field CTO at Sophos, the healthcare sector remains a prime target for cybercriminals due to the sensitive nature of its data and a general lack of preparedness for such attacks.
He noted that while ransomware attacks across various industries have plateaued or declined, healthcare organizations continue to experience an increase in both the frequency and severity of these incidents, resulting in longer recovery times and widespread repercussions.
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