Jackson-based University of Mississippi Medical Center did not pay a ransom in connection with the cyberattack that disrupted its systems in February, according to officials.
UMMC Vice Chancellor of Health Affairs LouAnn Woodward, MD, told SuperTalk Mississippi the state did not compensate hackers following the Feb. 19 attack. State Sen. Nicole Akins Boyd, who chairs the Universities and Colleges Committee, corroborated Dr. Woodward’s account.
The statements come after State Auditor Shad White said his office would investigate the incident and notify the public if the government had paid a ransom.
The cyberattack knocked out UMMC’s phones, website, records database and IT systems, forcing partner clinics to close for nine days and staff to record patient information by hand. The medical center returned to full operations Feb. 27.
Mr. White’s office is also reviewing a separate cyberattack on the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning, which governs UMMC and saw its student financial aid office affected, according to the Sept. 17 story.
The auditor’s inquiry marks one of the more concrete public commitments by a state watchdog to verify whether taxpayer dollars were used to pay ransomware attackers targeting a hospital system.
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