Cyberattack hits hospital systems across US, services hindered
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A ransomware assault occurred at Prospect Medical Holdings, Inc. in California, which controls hospitals and clinics in Texas, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania.
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The street in front of Methodist Hospital in Houston's Medical Center (AP)
A hack has knocked off hospital computer systems across the United States, wreaking havoc in hospitals.
A healthcare provider in the United States has been the victim of a cyberattack that has disrupted its computers and caused confusion at medical facilities across the country.
On Thursday, a ransomware assault occurred at Prospect Medical Holdings, Inc. in California, which controls hospitals and clinics in Texas, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Pennsylvania.
In a company statement, the corporation stated that "Prospect Medical Holdings, Inc. recently experienced a data security incident that has disrupted our operations," adding, that "Upon learning of this, we took our systems offline to protect them and launched an investigation with the help of third-party cybersecurity specialists.”
"Several hundred" corporations and organizations were also subject to a cyberattack.
Read more: Two spyware firms owned by Israeli ex-general blacklisted in US: NYT
“While our investigation continues, we are focused on addressing the pressing needs of our patients as we work diligently to return to normal operations as quickly as possible," it added.
The data security breach on Thursday led hospitals in numerous states to close their emergency departments, and patients were diverted to other neighboring medical facilities.
Elective operations, outpatient visits, blood drives, and other services were halted, as were ambulances. On Friday, many primary care facilities remained closed while security professionals attempted to resolve the issue.
The US has seen a string of hacking efforts in recent months, hitting colleges and government agencies. The hackers are putting pressure on federal authorities who have promised to eliminate the plague of ransomware assaults that have affected schools, hospitals, and municipal governments across the United States.
The breach jeopardized hundreds of IT management and business clients at Kaseya, a large software provider.
Several Federal Government departments in the United States, including the Department of Energy, came under a cyberattack in June that exploited a vulnerability in the widely used program MOVEit Transfer.
Hackers have been exploiting a flaw in MOVEit that companies and agencies use to transfer data since late May. Progress Software, the US-based developer of the software, says it discovered a new vulnerability in the software that “could be exploited by a bad actor.”
MOVEit Transfer is a popular tool used by organizations to share sensitive information with partners or customers.
US President Joe Biden, earlier in March, warned US companies of intelligence claiming a Russian "cyber threat" and urging US businesses to "immediately" prepare defenses.
"If you have not already done so, I urge our private sector partners to harden your cyber defenses immediately," he said in a statement.
Biden claimed that there is "evolving intelligence" that the Russian government is pondering conducting cyberattacks against the US in response to the wave of Western sanctions slammed at Russia over the crisis in Ukraine.
US companies control Internet for global dominance: Patrushev
According to Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, US corporations control the internet to ensure global dominance.
During the BRICS meeting of high representatives in charge of security issues in South Africa on Monday, the Secretary added that BRICS needs to move toward the internationalization of Internet governance.
Patrushev further elaborated that those responsible for planning and conducting attacks under the Ukrainian flag involve "The Pentagon Cyber Command, the National Security Agency and the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence."
According to the official, the US also directly oversees the activity of departments of the Ukrainian Centre for Information and Psychological Operations.
