By Leeann Doerflein | Daily Journal
For The Republic
FRANKLIN — Johnson Memorial Health has received a ransom request after an individual or group of hackers broke into the hospital system’s computer network.
No details about the ransom request are being shared at this time, said Dr. David Dunkle, the hospital’s president and CEO.
Until there is a clear path forward, the hospital is looking at all contingencies and trying to maintain normal operations without the aid of computers, Dunkle said.
“We continue to try to determine the extent of the attack by the perpetrator. A lot of our focus over the last 48 hours has been ensuring that the hospital, physician practices and ancillary services are able to operate as close to normal as possible,” he said Wednesday.
The network remains disabled while the investigation continues. The hospital’s IT team and the FBI are working around the clock to get to the bottom of the attack, Dunkle said.
The hackers gained access to the hospital’s network at 10:31 p.m. Friday and installed ransomware by 10:33 p.m. The hospital’s IT team discovered the attack within about 15 minutes and immediately shut down the system.
Hospital and doctor’s office staff still have access to patient records in a read-only format, but records made during visits at this time are being made on paper for the time being.
However, staff cannot communicate electronically with other health care agencies and the emergency room is still on diversion because real-time reporting of bed count and staffing levels can’t be shared with local emergency medical providers.
Some non-emergency services have been canceled, but most are continuing as normal. All patients should attend appointments as scheduled unless contacted by their doctor’s office.
