Ardent Suffers Network Outages Due to Disruptive Ransomware Attack
- Written by Shipra Sanganeria Cybersecurity & Tech Writer
After discovering the incident , the company’s technology team immediately took its network offline and suspended user access to all applications, including corporate servers, Epic software, internet and clinical programs.
Additionally, law enforcement was informed, and third-party forensic and cybersecurity services were engaged to investigate the incident and its impact.
While the full extent of the compromised patient health or financial data is yet to be confirmed, Ardent continues with its investigation and system restoration measures.
‘’At this time, Ardent cannot confirm the extent of any patient health or financial data that has been compromised. Ardent is still determining the full impact of this event and it is too soon to know how long this will take or what data may be involved in this incident,’’ the update read .
״Ardent teams are working around the clock to bring our systems back online and to establish a timeline for returning all applications to fully operational. At this time, we do not have a firm timeline for restoring full access,’’ the update continued.
Despite the temporary disruption in certain aspects of its clinical and financial operations, Ardent continues to provide patient care safely in its hospitals, emergency rooms, and clinics.
To ensure timely delivery of urgent patient care, as a precautionary move, the healthcare provider has decided to reschedule some non-urgent, elective procedures. Impacted hospitals are redirecting emergency care patients to nearby hospitals, until the systems are fully restored.
The organization also assured patients that in case of a rescheduled appointment or procedure, they would be directly contacted by Ardent’s team.
BlackCat Ransomware Strikes Henry Schein Again, Causes Business Disruption
- Written by Shipra Sanganeria Cybersecurity & Tech Writer
American healthcare giant, Henry Schein, disclosed that it was again restoring its systems after suffering a second cyberattack by the BlackCat/AlphV ransomware gang. Earlier, in October 2023, the gang breached its network, allegedly stealing 35TB of sensitive data.
On October 15, it first revealed the cybersecurity incident that had temporarily disrupted some of its business operations .
A few weeks after the announcement, the notorious BlackCat/AlphV ransomware gang took credit for the attack. In their post , they claimed to have re-encrypted Henry Schein’s system, while the latter was on verge of completely restoring it.
The stalled negotiations were blamed for the subsequent attacks. “Despite ongoing discussions with Henry’s team, we have not received any indication of their willingness to prioritize the security of their clients, partners, and employees, let alone protect their own network,” the post read.
The gang also threatened to release a portion of the stolen data related to internal payroll and shareholder folders, on its leak site.
Post this, the company in a letter to customers and suppliers warned about a possible data breach, wherein bank account numbers, credit card details and other sensitive information might have been compromised.
Following this, on November 22, Henry Schein again issued a public statement disclosing another BlackCat cyberattack . ‘’Certain Henry Schein applications, including its ecommerce platform, are currently unavailable. The Company continues to take orders using alternate means and continues to ship to its customers,” the statement said.
It also assured customers that it’s using alternative channels to book customer orders.
In a further update, Henry Schein revealed that its US ecommerce platform has resumed operations , and it’s expecting the Canada and Europe platforms to be online shortly.
