NY hospital computer system down for 5+ days after malware attack: 5 details

Watertown, N.Y.-based Samaritan Medical Center has been using paper records for the past week as the hospital investigates a malware attack that began on July 25, according to a report from NNY 360, powered by Watertown Daily Times and Northern New York Newspapers.

Five things to know:

1. The hospital took its computer system offline when it identified the attack and reverted to paper records. Samaritan and a team of computer forensic professionals are still working toward restoring the system.

2. Since the computer system went offline, Samaritan has relied on telephone and fax for communication and has continued to provide patient care, although some non-urgent procedures have been rescheduled.

3. Patient Safety Officer Heather Clement said the hospital has been on downtime paperwork protocols for the past five days.

4. Samaritan has not had issues with payroll due to the computer outage, although the hospital is now recording time worked differently.

5. There is no indication that a patient or employee was involved in the security incident at this time, according to the report.

More articles on cybersecurity:
Philips reports security vulnerability with DreamMapper software
Healthcare data breach cost up to $7M per incident
NY hospital reverts to pen & paper after online breach: 4 details

 

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