Cybersecurity news for hospitals and health systems

Tuscaloosa, Ala.-based DCH Health System continues to divert patients to nearby hospitals while it methodically restores its systems, according to an Oct. 7 post.

Gary, Ind.-based Methodist Hospitals is notifying 68,039 patients that their protected health information may have been exposed in a data breach.

While ransomware attacks have hit hospitals across the country, internal breaches and human error remain a top concern for hospital CIOs.

The University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business unveiled a new certificate program for cybersecurity leaders in healthcare organizations, endorsed by the Texas Hospital Association and two leading healthcare cybersecurity firms.

Over the past two months, ransomware attacks have caused hospitals and health systems to divert patients and even shut down in some instances.

Cancer Treatment Centers of America at Southeastern Regional Medical Center in Atlanta began notifying 3,290 patients that their personal health information may have been exposed in a security incident.

Ransomware attacks and other cybersecurity incidents can cause smaller hospitals and medical centers to shut its doors because these providers lack to resources to recover, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The University of Alabama Birmingham Medicine has alerted 19,557 patients that their information may have been exposed in a phishing attack, according to ABC3340.

Tuscaloosa, Ala.-based DCH Health System announced Oct. 5 that it had paid hackers an undisclosed ransom to restore access to locked systems at its three hospitals.

The level of transparency and the details at which hospitals, health systems and other businesses report cybersecurity incidents varies greatly, according to an Oct. 3 Moody's Investors Service report.