Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare attacked by alleged ransomware attack

TALLAHASSEE, Florida. A major hospital system in north Florida said Friday it is redirecting some emergency room patients and canceling surgeries due to IT-related security concerns.

Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare said the issue began affecting its systems late on Thursday and forced the hospital to shut down its IT network.

It showed signs of a ransomware attack, but the hospital has yet to characterize it as such, instead calling it an “IT security issue.” Victims often, at least initially, refuse to acknowledge ransomware attacks.

Related: CommonSpirit Health Confirms Cyber ​​Attack Lasts Second Week

The hospital said in a statement that it has rescheduled admissions for non-emergency patients and redirected some emergency room patients. He said he does not transfer patients currently in the hospital to other facilities.

The statement said that all non-emergency procedures have been canceled and rescheduled. It is not yet clear when the systems will return online. The hospital said they were cooperating with law enforcement.

The Tallahassee-headquartered hospital provides care in 21 counties in northern Florida and southern Georgia, according to its website.

Cybersecurity firm Emsisoft said there were 25 ransomware attacks on hospitals or hospital systems in the past year.

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